Four arrested over abduction, murder of Buddhist Monk

Four suspects including a female have been arrested over the abduction and murder of a 65-year-old Buddhist monk at the Kodikanda Aranya Senasanaya in Thummodara, Hanwella.

Police Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana said that a complainant alerted the Hanwella Police on January 3, 2021, that Uduwila Dharmasiri Thera had been abducted on the previous day .

However, the charred body of the monk was recovered yesterday at the Nawana Cemetery in Kotadeniyawa.

The Police spokesman said the body of the monk was taken to the Negombo Base Hospital for autopsy and that the witnesses have identified the body was that of Uduwila Dharmasiri Thera who was abducted on January 2.

DIG Rohana said the suspects have been arrested during the course of the investigation launched by the Kotadeniyawa and Hanwella Police teams and the Western Province (North) Crimes Unit, under the direction of Western Province Senior DIG.

A van, which has been used to commit the crime, had also been recovered by the police.

Investigations revealed that there had been a feud between the late monk and one of the suspects who have been arrested.

The parents of a novice monk who resides at the same Aranya Senasanaya were the suspects who have been arrested, he said further.(Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya)