Sri Lanka’s Buddhist hierarchy has suspended senior monk Pallegama Hemarathana after he was accused of sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl.
The rare disciplinary move came as police investigate allegations that the 71-year-old monk abused the girl in 2022 at the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi temple in Anuradhapura. He has been granted bail, while a court has barred him from leaving the country.
Police arrested Hemarathana on May 9 over allegations that he had sexually abused an 11-year-old girl in 2022 at the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi temple in Anuradhapura, 200km north of Colombo.
The monk has since been granted bail, while a court has barred him from travelling abroad.
The temple draws thousands of people daily who pay homage at the tree Buddhists believe is closely connected to the same fig tree that sheltered the Buddha when he attained enlightenment.
Hemarathana’s suspension came on the same day Sri Lanka celebrated Vesak, the anniversary of the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and passing.
There have been several cases of clergy abusing children in Sri Lanka, but Hemarathana is the most senior monk to be accused of such a crime.
In a separate case, a group of 22 monks arrested in April with 110kg of cannabis have remained in custody pending prosecution, but not suspended from the priesthood.