Chief warden of Avanthi Devi Children’s Home remanded
January 15, 2021 04:30 pm
The chief warden of Avanthi Devi Children’s Home in Anuradhapura, who was arrested in connection with the abuses and misconducts at the residential institution, has been remanded until the 18th of January.
The suspect, who was identified as Amara Weerasinghe was taken into custody yesterday (January 14).
Avanthi Devi Children’s Home, which was complicit in several cases of sexual abuses and other irregularities, was recently exposed by Ada Derana ‘Ukussa’.
Acting swiftly on the exposé, the authorities had launched investigations into the allegations and the misdeeds carried out by the same authorities overseeing the home, who were tasked with ensuring the safety of the children, came to light.
The establishment was operated by the North Central Provincial Department of Probation and Childcare Services and had nearly 60 girls under its care.
The police had arrested the chief warden based on the statements recorded from 52 girls who were accommodated at the Avanthi Devi Children’s Home.
Claims levelled by the children revealed that their residential institution was frequented by outsiders for consuming alcohol, with the authorities turning a blind eye.
In the meantime, a 34-year-old named Nalinda Kelum Senanayake, who posed as a yoga instructor, has been also arrested on Tuesday (January 12), for allegedly abusing the girls at Avanthi Devi Children’s Home. He was subsequently remanded for 14 days.
