Pallegama Hemarathana, the chief prelate of Anuradhapura’s eight sacred Buddhist sites, is charged with raping a minor. He was granted bail by the Anuradhapura magistrate’s court today.
The girl, who is now 14, says the monk first raped her about three years ago. Twenty eight days passed between the police hearing the child’s statement in April this year, and arresting the monk, in May. They arrested the monk only after the National Child Protection Authority, NCPA, filed a motion in court calling for it.
The Anuradhapura magistrate took a decision on the NCPA’s motion, issuing a warrant for the monk’s arrest and a travel ban.
The Examiner pieced together what happened between the child’s statement and the arrest. The police have acted irregularly at multiple points.
The case first came to the police’s attention when the mother complained that the child was missing to the Nittambuwa police. When the police found the child they questioned her. The Judicial Medical Officer, JMO, also examined her by April 10th. But Hemarathana, the chief prelate, or Atamasthana Adipathi, was only arrested on May 8th.
The JMO’s report concluded that the child had been raped over a long period of time, an NCPA officer investigating the matter said. The NCPA told the court today that even as recently as April 27th the police had failed to name any suspects, or obtain travel bans.
The crime scene investigation was only conducted on April 28th, after the NCPA inquired as to the delay.
Today the NCPA told the Anuradhapura court that during the crime scene investigation at Anuradhapura’s Sri Maha Bodhi temple, authorities had made these observations: “From the VIP parking lot near the final gate to enter the bomaluwa temple, the girl walked directly into the residential quarters where the chief prelate of Atamasthana resides.”
The child identified the Atamasthana Adipathi’s residence and room where the crime took place. “This is the bed I was taken onto,” she had said.
The investigation also dug up the bloodied clothes she was wearing during the alleged rape — the clothes had been buried. The police sent the garments for DNA testing to the government analyst, but the reports are not yet ready.
According to the NCPA submissions the victim’s mother took money from Hemarathana on the same day she dropped her to the monk. The monk paid her 100,000 rupees according to the mother’s statement. She had told her child, “Puthe, I am taking this money because of our poverty.”
Kalinga Indatissa, appearing for the accused, denied the allegations in court and said that Hemarathana had cooperated with investigations.
