Top Sri Lankan monk arrested for alleged sexual abuse of girl

Colombo: One of Sri Lanka’s senior most Buddhist monks has been arrested for the sexual abuse of a girl, the police said on Saturday.

Venerable Pallegama He­marathana, 71, is the chief pri­est of a prominent temple in the country. He was taken into custody on Friday night after a court in the holy city of Anuradhapura issued an arrest warrant against him and the victim’s mother for allegedly aiding and abetting child abuse. He has been remanded until May 12. 

The victim is a girl who is now 15 years old, according to the police, who was allegedly abused on the premises of a temple in Anuradhapura, police spokesperson FT Wootler told reporters.

A complaint was registered in March. It was initially about abduction and detention of a minor, reported the Daily Mirror media portal. When a probe was initiated, the investigators found out more.

Hemarathana was arrested from the emergency unit of a private hospital in Colombo, around 200 km from Anuradhapura, where he was undergoing some treatment, police said. The mother has also been arrested.