Ex-PM Mahinda Rajapaksa’s CSO questioned over violent incidents

Colombo: Sri Lankan police on Wednesday summoned the chief security officer of former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and recorded his statement over the violent clashes between anti- and pro-government protesters in the country that killed at least eight people and injured over 200 others.

Violence erupted in Sri Lanka on Monday after supporters of former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa attacked peaceful anti-government protesters demanding his ouster over the country’s worst economic crisis that led to acute shortages of staple food, fuel and power.

Over 200 people have also been injured in the violence in Colombo and other cities.

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) recorded a statement from the chief security officer of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa over the Galle Face incident on Wednesday, the Colombo Gazette news portal reported.

He was summoned to the CID headquarters this morning to be questioned over the attack on peaceful protesters at Galle Face and near Temple Trees.

A criminal investigation has been launched into the mob attack on peaceful protesters at Galle Face and near Temple Trees, the official residence of the Sri Lankan prime minister.

The Police Headquarters said that the Criminal Investigations Department has been instructed to investigate the incidents.

Meanwhile, the Attorney General had advised the Inspector General of Police to expedite the investigations into the incidents.

The Police watched as Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) supporters moved into GotaGoGama in Galle Face and launched an attack.

Several people sustained injuries as the SLPP supporters, armed with poles and other objects, attacked GotaGoGama in Galle Face.

The mob destroyed several tents and other structures erected at Galle Face and also attacked some of the demonstrators.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, 76, resigned as Sri Lankan Prime Minister on Monday amid unprecedented economic turmoil, hours after his supporters attacked anti-government protesters, prompting authorities to impose a nationwide curfew and deploy Army troops in the capital.

The violence saw arson attacks on the homes of several politicians, including the ancestral home of the Rajapaksas in Hambantota.

Video footage showed the entire house of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his younger brother and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Medamulana in Hambantota city was burning.

Prime Minister Mahinda’s House in Kurunegala was also set on fire by protesters while a mob also destroyed D A Rajapaksa Memorial – constructed in the memory of the father of Mahinda and Gotabaya – in Medamulana, Hambantota.

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