A prominent Buddhist monk has been arrested in Sri Lanka for allegedly sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl, in the highest-profile case involving a local religious leader.

Authorities took 71-year-old Pallegama Hemarathana into custody on Saturday from a private hospital in Colombo, where he had checked in for treatment. He is accused of committing the abuse in 2022 at a highly venerated temple in Anuradhapura.

The victim's mother has also been arrested for allegedly aiding and abetting the monk. Police stated they would be guided by the magistrate on further action. Hemarathana had been subject to a foreign travel ban.

In addition to his position in Colombo, the monk is the chief of eight highly venerated temples on a key Buddhist pilgrimage route and the chief custodian of a tree believed to be grown from a sapling of the Bodhi tree.

There have been several cases of clergy abusing children in Sri Lanka, but this arrest involves the most senior monk accused of such a crime. Last month, 22 monks were arrested at Colombo's airport with 110 kg of cannabis.

Source: www.aljazeera.com