Colombo, March 5 (newsin.asia) – Sri Lankan Police, on Monday imposed curfew in Kandy, in the Central Hills of the island country after clashes triggered by racial violence erupted between two groups.
Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara told newsin.asia that the curfew had been imposed till Tuesday morning 6 am in order to restore normalcy and security had been beefed up across the Kandy district.
Gunasekara said the clashes had erupted in Digana town in Kandy on Sunday night after a 41-year-old man succumbed to his injuries after being attacked by a group of people on Feb 22.
The victim who was a resident of Ambala in Medamahanuwara had been attacked by a group of people in Teldeniya Town over an incident involving two vehicles. The victim had been rushed to hospital but succumbed to his injuries on Sunday.
Gunasekara said 24 people had been arrested over the killing to date. Out of the 24, 10 had been directly involved in the killing of the victim while 14 people had been arrested on suspicion.
Several shops, had been burnt by unruly mobs in Digana town on Sunday night after which special police teams and STF personnel had rushed to the area.
However protests had continued throughout the night with violent mobs clashing on Monday afternoon. Police had used tear gas to disperse the crowds after which police curfew had been imposed throughout the Kandy administrative district.