Anuradhapura Chief Magistrate Siyapath Sasindu Wickramaratne on Friday (June 12) ordered the suspect, Venerable Pallegama Hemarathana Thero, former Atamasthanadhipathi, to go to the Government Analyst's Department on June 16 and provide his blood sample to the Government Analyst for a DNA test.
The Chief Magistrate also ordered the Government Analyst to submit the report of the DNA test conducted after the suspect provided his blood sample to the court.
The Chief Magistrate made this order after taking into account a further report submitted to the court by the Nittambuwa Police.
Submitting a further report, the Nittambuwa Police told the court that, pursuant to a court order, the clothes suspected of being stained with blood found buried by the girl and sent to the Government Analyst for DNA testing on May 4, 2026, were forwarded to the Government Analyst.
Accordingly, the police told the court that the Government Analyst had conducted a DNA test on the clothes named as case items, and that the DNA test had confirmed that the girl's clothes "contain DNA alleles".
Accordingly, the police, who had told the court that they needed to obtain blood samples from the suspect monk to compare them with the relevant DNA alleles, accordingly requested the court to order the suspect monk to provide blood samples to the Government Analyst.
The police further requested the court to order the Government Analyst to submit to the court the analyst report of the DNA test conducted to reveal whether the suspect monk's blood samples match the DNA alleles contained in the girl's clothes.
Taking this information into consideration, Anuradhapura Chief Magistrate Siyapath Sasindu Wickramaratne ordered the suspect, Venerable Pallegama Hemarathana Thero, to go to the Government Analyst's Department on the 16th and provide his blood sample to the Government Analyst for a DNA test.
The Chief Magistrate also ordered the Government Analyst to present the report of the DNA test conducted on the suspect's blood sample to the court.
The suspect, former Atamasthanadhipathi, Pallegama Hemarathana Thero, who is accused of seriously abusing a minor girl, was previously imprisoned and later released on strict bail conditions.
The suspect was suspended from his position as Atamasthanadhipathi and the post of Chief Sanghanayake of Nuwara Kalawiya on the last Vesak full moon day.
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National Child Protection Authority
Sri Lanka Child Support Service - 1929
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Ministry of Women and Child Affairs
Child Support Service - 1938