A departmental inquiry committee has been appointed to investigate the disappearance of a stock of school textbooks intended for distribution to schools in the Eastern Province, Deputy Minister of Education Dr. Madhura Seneviratne said.
The Deputy Minister said police are also conducting a separate investigation into the incident.
The textbooks had been handed over by the Department of Educational Publications on May 24 for distribution to schools in the Eastern Province.
The missing stock, valued at more than Rs. 800,000, included Tamil-language activity books and textbooks for the third term of Grade One.
Police investigations have revealed that after the books were handed over for transportation, the first suspect allegedly sold the stock to a location in the Alawwa area.
The owner of that establishment had subsequently sold the textbooks to a centre in the Narammala area, before the stock was later transported to Wattala, according to police.
Five suspects arrested in connection with the incident have been remanded until August 25.
