COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s Buddhist hierarchy suspended on Saturday (May 30) a senior monk accused of sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl, in a high-profile case that has shocked the religiously conservative nation.

In a rare disciplinary move, 71-year-old Pallegama Hemarathana was stripped of his responsibilities as the chief custodian of a highly venerated ficus grown from a sapling of a tree believed to have sheltered the Buddha.

“The Council of Monks of the Malwatte Chapter decided today to suspend Ven. Hemarathana until the conclusion of the legal proceedings against him,” a statement issued by the chief priests said.

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, 200 kilometres 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 ficus 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 110 kilograms of cannabis have remained in custody pending prosecution, but not suspended from the priesthood.