Sri Lanka’s Buddhist hierarchy suspended on Saturday a senior monk accused of sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl, in a high-profile case that has shocked the religiously conservative nation.In a rare disciplinary move, 71-year-old Pallegama Hemarathana was stripped of his responsibilities as the chief custodian of a highly venerated ficus grown from a sapling of a tree believed to have sheltered the Buddha.“The Council of Monks of the Malwatte Chapter decided today to suspend Ven. Hemarathana until the conclusion of the legal proceedings against him,” a statement issued by the chief priests said.Police arrested Hemarathana on May 9 over allegations that he had sexually abused an 11-year-old girl in 2022 at the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi temple in Anuradhapura, 200km (125 miles) north of Colombo.The monk has since been granted bail while a court has barred him from travelling abroad.Buddhist monk Pallegama Hemarathana was stripped of his responsibilities as the chief custodian of a highly venerated ficus grown from a sapling of a tree believed to have sheltered the Buddha. Photo: AFPThe temple draws thousands of people daily who pay homage at the tree Buddhists believe is closely connected to the same ficus that sheltered the Buddha when he attained enlightenment.