Pallegama Hemarathana Thero arrested at a private hospital in Colombo

Atamasthanadhipathi Venerable Pallegama Hemarathana Thero was arrested by Nittambuwa Police yesterday (08) around 11:45 PM on charges of abusing a minor girl. The suspect monk was taken into police custody while receiving treatment in the emergency unit of a private hospital in Colombo. Facts regarding this are scheduled to be reported to the court today (09).

This arrest was made pursuant to a warrant issued yesterday (08) by Anuradhapura Chief Magistrate Sasindu Wickramarathne, naming the Atamasthanadhipathi and the victim girl's mother as suspects and ordering their immediate arrest. This order was issued based on evidence and submissions presented to the court by the National Child Protection Authority, and a travel ban has also been imposed on the suspects. Meanwhile, the girl's mother, who was arrested yesterday on charges of aiding and abetting this crime and selling the girl for money, has been remanded until the 15th after being produced before the Anuradhapura Magistrate's Court.

This abuse incident, which created a strong public outcry, came to light after the girl was taken into police custody on April 27 while staying with her boyfriend at a lodge in the Nittambuwa area. When she was presented to a specialist forensic medical officer at Gampaha General Hospital, medical examinations confirmed that she had been raped on several occasions. The girl revealed that she was first raped by a chief monk of a temple in Anuradhapura, and later she was also abused by her boyfriend and a relative.

Crucial information regarding this crime was revealed during the case hearing before the Anuradhapura Chief Magistrate on April 04, as well as through investigations by the Child Protection Authority. The most serious fact revealed through initial police investigations is that the girl's parents had repeatedly given their fifteen-year-old daughter to the said chief monk in exchange for large sums of money. As another strong piece of evidence related to the crime, the police managed to find blood-stained clothes worn by the girl during the first abuse by the chief monk, buried near her house. The court had previously ordered these clothes and related case items to be sent to the Government Analyst for a report.

Since the first crime in this incident occurred in Anuradhapura, investigations have now been assigned to the Gampaha Divisional Child and Women's Bureau, as per the orders of Inspector General of Police Priyantha Weerasuriya. Prior to this, a special investigation team led by an Assistant Superintendent of Police had gone to Anuradhapura and recorded statements from the Atamasthanadhipathi for over three hours, and the victim girl was also taken to the relevant temple for an on-site inspection. Currently, the Child and Women's Bureau of the Nittambuwa Police is conducting further extensive investigations into the incident.