Crime10 May, 20262 min read
Sri Lankan Police Arrest Pallegama Hemarathana Thero Over Rape Allegations In Colombo
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Venerable Pallegama Hemarathana Thero arrested on suspicion of raping a minor. Arrest followed police submission; he was remanded in custody.
Monk arrested in Colombo
Sri Lankan police arrested Pallegama Hemarathana Thero, described as one of the country’s highest-ranking Buddhist monks, on Saturday at a private hospital in Colombo over allegations of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl. The Independent said the 71-year-old custodian of eight sacred sites was remanded on charges of repeated rape and sexual assault of a minor in 2022 in a temple in Anuradhapura, and it reported that the mother of the survivor was also arrested for allegedly abetting the abuse.
Al Jazeera reported that authorities took 71-year-old Pallegama Hemarathana into custody on Saturday from a private hospital in the capital, Colombo, where he had checked in for treatment as a criminal probe progressed. Al Jazeera added that Hemarathana is accused of committing the abuse in 2022 in a highly venerated temple in Anuradhapura, where he is the chief priest, and that the victim’s mother has also been arrested for aiding and abetting the monk.
Court orders and police statement
A police statement quoted by The Independent said, "We will be guided by the magistrate on further action," after the monk was arrested and remanded. The Independent reported that Anuradhapura chief magistrate Siyapath Sasidu Wickramaratne said the monk would be transferred to the Colombo prison hospital, and it said the magistrate handed the monk a travel ban after child protection authorities alleged there had been delays in securing his arrest.
BBC reported that the magistrate determined that Pallegama Hemarathana should be transferred to the Colombo prison hospital and that he would appear in court on 12 May. BBC also said the magistrate issued an order to immigration authorities to ensure that Pallegama Hemarathana did not try to flee the country, while it described the case as unusual because monks are both politically powerful and venerated in Sri Lanka.
Investigation, influence, and next steps
The Independent said the allegations came to light after a complaint was lodged with the local police on 6 March about the alleged abduction and detention of a minor, and it reported that police arrested a suspect and placed the girl in a care centre. Al Jazeera reported that Hemarathana was detained on the orders of the chief magistrate in Anuradhapura after child protection authorities cited complaints of delays in his arrest, and it said the court instructed police to arrest Hemarathana and bring him before the court "without delay".
BBC said the alleged victim’s mother was also arrested and remanded to custody after being charged with aiding and abetting the abuse, and it reported that Pallegama Hemarathana has not publicly commented on the charges. The Independent described Hemarathana as the chief custodian of a sacred tree believed to have grown from a sapling of the Bodhi tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment more than 2,500 years ago, and it said Hemarathana is the highest-ranking monk to face such allegations.