The Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus has appointed a subcommittee to oversee future legal proceedings in the alleged child sexual abuse case reported from Anuradhapura and to recommend institutional and legal reforms aimed at eliminating violence against women and children.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the caucus chaired by Minister Saroja Savithri Paulraj at Parliament on Monday. The subcommittee will be led by the caucus’s deputy co-chairs, Member of Parliament Samanmali Gunasinghe and Attorney-at-Law Chamindrani Kiriella.
Other members include Hemali Weerasekara, Dr. Kaushalya Ariyarathna, attorneys Sagarika Athauda, Nilanthi Kottahachchi and Nilusha Lakmali Gamage, along with Thushari Jayasinghe, Anushka Thilakarathna, Hasara Liyanage, Hiruni Wijesinghe and Lakmali Hemachandra.
The caucus said it would examine the ongoing legal proceedings and matters relating to the protection of the girl involved in the incident, which has drawn significant public attention. A special discussion has been scheduled for June 5 with the participation of Sri Lanka Police, the Attorney General’s Department, the National Child Protection Authority and the Department of Probation and Child Care Services.
The case has become one of the country’s most closely watched child-protection matters since the Atamasthanadhipathi of Anuradhapura was arrested in May over the sexual abuse of a 15-year-old girl. The NCPA has said it faced no interference in the investigation and that the child is being cared for under secure conditions, while the senior monk was granted bail on May 22.
