2 senior child protection officers arrested over child cruelty

Two senior child protection officers were arrested over a child cruelty case in Anuradhapura.

Anuradhapura police had initiated an investigation on a complaint lodged with the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) after a TV channel had exposed the case in 2021, involving a 17-year-old girl at an orphanage in Anuradhapura.

Based on the complaint, officers at the Anuradhapura Police Station recorded the statements of the girls residing in the children’s home and officers attached to the North Central Provincial Probation and Child Protection Services Department and conducted investigations.

Based on the information revealed there, the advice of the Attorney General had been sought on legal action to be taken against the governing authority of the North Central Provincial Probation and Childcare Services Department regarding the cruelty inflicted on the  17-year-old girl, who was detained at a counseling center on court orders, by employing her as a cook in a children’s home.

The suspects – a 49 year old male from Wariyapola and a 57 year old female from Anuradhapura, were arrested after appearing before the police and was subsequently granted bail after being produced before the Anuradhapura Magistrate Court.