The Chief Incumbent of the Anuradhapura Atamasthanaya, Ven. Pallegama Hemarathana Thera, who stands accused of subjecting a 15-year-old girl to serious sexual abuse, has been arrested by Police.
Police Media Spokesman Assistant Superintendent of Police F.U. Wootler said that the monk was arrested on the night of Thursday (8) at a private hospital in Colombo.
“He was arrested by the Nittambuwa Police at around 11.45 p.m. at Nawaloka Hospital in Colombo in connection with charges relating to rape and grave sexual abuse. He will be produced before court today,” the Police Spokesman said.
The girl’s mother was also arrested on Thursday (8) and remanded until 15 May after being produced before court.
She has been accused of aiding and abetting the alleged offence and of selling the minor girl for money.
Earlier on Thursday (8), Anuradhapura Chief Magistrate Siyapath Sasidu Wickramaratne ordered the Nittambuwa Police to immediately arrest and produce before court Ven. Pallegama Hemarathana Thera and the girl’s mother in connection with the case.
The Magistrate also issued an overseas travel ban on the monk and directed the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration to prevent him from leaving the country.
The order was issued after the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), acting on the instructions of its Chairperson, retired High Court Judge Inoka Ranasinghe, made submissions before court regarding case number 22424/2026 B, which concerns the alleged grave sexual abuse of the 15-year-old girl by a monk and two other suspects.
Appearing before court, NCPA Director of Law Enforcement Attorney-at-Law Sajeevani Abeykoon questioned why Ven. Pallegama Hemarathana Thera had not been arrested despite repeated written and verbal inquiries made by the authority to the Police.
She informed court that the NCPA had been closely monitoring the Police investigation into the incident and had decided to bring the matter before court through a motion after receiving no response from the Police to its inquiries, in an effort to ensure justice for the victim.
Abeykoon further requested court permission to formally name Ven. Pallegama Hemarathana Thera and the girl’s mother as suspects in the case and sought immediate arrest orders against them.
Taking the submissions into consideration, the Chief Magistrate granted permission to name both individuals as suspects and instructed the Nittambuwa Police to arrest and produce them before court without delay.
The complaint was presented on behalf of the NCPA by Chairperson Inoka Ranasinghe, Director of Law Enforcement Attorney-at-Law Sajeevani Abeykoon, and Assistant Director Attorney-at-Law Hansi Halangoda.
The initial B report in relation to the case had been filed by the Gampaha Division Police Children and Women’s Bureau, while subsequent submissions by the NCPA were made before the Magistrate in chambers rather than in open court.
