A 15-year-old girl alleges abuse by Anuradhapura’s chief monk. Court orders reports as police investigate the sacred area temple.
A 15-year-old minor girl has alleged that the chief monk of a temple in the Anuradhapura sacred area abused her, leading the Anuradhapura Chief Magistrate’s Court today (04) to order that investigation reports be submitted regarding the incident involving three individuals, including the monk.
Magistrate Siyapath Sasindu Chithraratna ordered that the case exhibits be referred to the Government Analyst and that the resulting report be submitted to the court. The Gampaha Division Police Children and Women’s Bureau was also ordered to submit a report detailing the progress of the investigations.
A special police team, including an Assistant Superintendent of Police, had gone to Anuradhapura and questioned the accused temple chief monk for over three hours, recording a statement. The victim girl was also taken to the relevant temple in Anuradhapura for a scene inspection.
The girl was taken into police custody while staying at a lodge in the Nittambuwa area with her boyfriend. After being referred for a medical examination, it was revealed that she had been abused on multiple occasions.
During questioning, the girl stated that the first person who abused her was the chief monk of a temple in the Anuradhapura sacred area. It was later revealed that her boyfriend and a relative had also abused her.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the girl’s parents had been receiving a large sum of money from the relevant chief monk from time to time. The girl is currently being held under protection at a special children’s home.
