Wednesday, 18 June 2014 00:27
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Police moved to avert further unrest erupting in Mawanella in the Kegalle District, an area with a dense population of Muslims, by obtaining a Court order against a rally to be held in the town by a fringe hardline group.
A hardline organisation calling itself ‘Mahasen 969’ distributed leaflets in Mawanella town, announcing a sathyagraha at 3:30 p.m. against the murder of Sinhalese people in Aluthgama.
SSP Piyal Dissanayake sought a Court order to prevent the protest, following entreaties by Muslim groups and politicians and a decision by the Buddhist clergy in the area to disassociate themselves from the event.
SSP Dissanayake held a meeting at the Mawanella Police Station after he obtained the Court order with Muslim representatives and Buddhist priests in the area to brief them of security arrangements. The Police were authorised to use force to stop the rally, the representatives were told.
Once the Court order was obtained, Police stepped up security in the Mawanella town, guarding the entrances to prevent an incursion of protestors that could spark fresh violence in the ethnically-diverse area.
The group organising the event was initially believed to be a Bodu Bala Sena affiliate, but the BBS denied it was involved in organising the protest in Mawanella town.
