Top Sri Lankan monk arrested for alleged sexual abuse of minor girl
The victim who is now 15 years old was allegedly abused on the premises of a temple in Anuradhapura
One of Sri Lanka's senior most Buddhist monks has been arrested for the sexual abuse of a minor 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 magistrate's 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.
The victim who is now 15 years old, according to the police, was allegedly abused on the premises of a temple in Anuradhapura, police spokesperson FT Wootler told reporters.
A complaint about the incident 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 capital city Colombo - around 200 km from Anuradhapura - where he was undergoing some treatment, police said.
The mother has also been arrested, police said.
Hemarathana is the top Buddhist monk from Atamasthana, a group of sacred shrines, located in the ancient city of Anuradhapura. These sites are visited by large numbers of Buddhist pilgrims annually.
