Sri Lanka Police says that the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) is recording statements from the former Prime Minister’s head of security and other officials over the attacks on peaceful protesters near Temple Trees and Galle Face. 

Statements are currently being recorded from the head of the former PM’s security division, the coordinator of the event at Temple Trees and the officer-in-charge (OIC) of the Kollupitiya Police Station.

They had been summoned to the CID premises this morning to record the statements, a spokesman said.

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) C.D. Wickramaratne yesterday directed the CID to initiate a probe into the attacks on the anti-government protesters outside the Temple Trees and at the Galle Face Green.

A mob of government supporters who met with former PM Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Temple Trees on Monday (May 09) morning were seen assaulting the peaceful protesters and damaging the properties nearby.

Police imposed a nationwide curfew and Army troops were deployed in Colombo as supporters of the ruling party then proceeded to attack anti-government demonstrators outside the President’s office, injuring several of them. 

In a media release, IGP Wickramaratne has instructed the CID to take necessary legal actions against those who behaved in an unruly manner.

This was after the Attorney General had advised the IGP to conduct a full-fledged investigation into the assault on peaceful protesters in Colombo yesterday and to complete investigations on urgent priority basis.