Sri Lankan minister issued notice to appear in court over teen abduction

A Sri Lankan court on Friday issued notice to the country's health minister and his son to appear in court on April 2 over the alleged abduction of an underage girl.

The parents of the girl last week told journalists that Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne's son, Eksath Senaratne, had abducted their underage daughter last year and since then neither did they know her whereabouts or whether their daughter was dead or alive.

"One may ask, what took so long to reveal this. But Rajitha Senaratne is a powerful politician. We eventually had to step forward as justice was not served,"said Gamini Ranasinghe, the father of the girl.

While alleging that the minister's son had initially abducted their daughter on Feb.14 last year, the girl returned back to the parents after the family lodged a complaint to the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA). Officers of the NCPA had intervened which had eventually led to the girl's returning back home.

However, the girl's mother Indra Rodrigo alleged that the minister's son had once again abducted the teenager on April 6 and they have since then not met their daughter.

Minister Senaratne last week denied the allegations stating that it was a "mudslinging campaign" carried out against him due to his efforts to topple the previous government. Endi