A Buddhist monk was yesterday taken into custody at the international pilgrim town Bodh Gaya near here for alleged sexual abuse of 15 children from Assam who were studying at a school-cum-meditation centre run by him, police said. Superintendent of Police (City), Gaya, Anil Kumar said the monk was being interrogated by Town Deputy SP Rajkumar Shah.

The monk ran an institution called "Prasanna Jyoti Buddhist School and Meditation Centre" at Mastipur village in Bodh Gaya where the 15 children - all hailing from Karbi Anglong district in Assam - were studying. The police had received information that the boys were being sexually exploited by the monk.