Missing child located at Anuradhapura

The nine-year-old boy who had gone missing in Horana town on Wednesday (23) evening was found by the Anurdhapura police in the company of a Buddhist monk at the Jethawanaramaya temple.

Lochana Dulanjaya lives with his parents at Olabotuwa in Horana and is a student of the Palannoruwa Maha Vidyalaya in Gonapola.

When he visited his grandmother at Kandana in Horana, he had met the Buddhist monk who is said to be a relative of his grandmother.

According to reports, the Buddhist monk had promised to buy the boy a bicycle and had gone with him to Horana to withdraw money from a bank.

However, the boy and the Buddhist monk had then gone missing and their whereabouts could not be traced despite the efforts made by the boy’s parents and relatives.

The parents then complained to the Horana Police who alerted police stations countrywide giving the details of the boy.

Meanwhile, traders near Jethawanarama Cheithiya in Anuradhapura had noticed a boy in the company of a Buddhist monk and informed the police post.

Those on duty questioned the boy who disclosed his identity and the circumstances that led to his visit to Anuradhapura. They handed over the boy and the Buddhist monk to the Udamaluwa Police for further investigations.

The Buddhist monk identified as Ven. Rajanganaye Somarathanalankara Thera is a resident monk of Sri Visuddharama Temple in Dimbulagala and told the police that he had brought the boy to Anuradhapura to show him the Atamastana and the ancient ruins.

Investigations revealed that the monk had spent the night in a house at Anuradhapura town and set off last morning to visit the Atamasthana.

When asked why he brought the child without the permission of and his parents, the monk said the boy was a relative of his that the boy had accompanied him willingly.

However, the boy’s parents said the Buddhist monk when contacted over the mobile phone about their whereabouts had demanded Rs.300,000 if the boy was to be returned.

SSP Anuradhapura Mahesh Senaratne said the boy and the monk would be handed over to the Horana Police for further investigations after referring the boy to the Anuradhapura JMO for a medical examination.