Five individuals have been arrested by Katana Police for allegedly directing verbal abuse towards President Anura Kumara Dissanayake near the Southern Expressway entry point in Mattala and subsequently posting the video on social media.

Meanwhile, the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) and two other police officers who were on duty at the expressway interchange at the time of the incident have been transferred with immediate effect.

Accordingly, the OIC has been transferred to the Sri Lanka Police Headquarters, while the other two officers have been transferred to the Kottawa and Kadawatha Police Stations.

It is reported that these transfers were carried out due to the officers’ failure to take legal action against the individuals involved, despite the country’s Executive President being publicly verbally abused and the group allegedly behaving in an indecent manner.

The incident occurred yesterday (17), when a tense situation prevailed after police officers prevented a private bus returning from a pilgrimage to Kataragama from entering the expressway, due to the absence of seat belts.

An argument then broke out between the group travelling in the bus and the police officers on duty.

During the incident, the group on board the bus allegedly proceeded to utter profanities while referring to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and making harsh and insulting remarks. 

The incident was recorded on a mobile phone and later circulated widely on social media.