Authorities have said that on Wednesday, Sri Lankan police arrested two members of parliament from the ruling party for allegedly encouraging mob violence that rocked the nation for days and resulted in the deaths of nine people last week.
The two members of parliament, both of whom are affiliated with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s party, were taken into custody on Tuesday evening and questioned by criminal investigators, according to a police official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
According to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, it was said that “there is direct proof against the two MPs and that is why they were detained.”
The passports of 22 politicians, including the former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his son Namal, were taken away from them last week as a result of allegations that they had incited violence. Among those 22 lawmakers were Sanath Nishantha and Milan Jayathilake.
On the 9th of May, thousands of supporters of the ruling party who had been bussed into the city attacked a peaceful anti-government rally in which protesters were calling for President Rajapaksa to resign because of the country’s deteriorating economic position.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president’s older brother, stepped down as soon as the mob assault sparked retaliatory violence and arson, with the residences of more than seventy figures of the ruling party being destroyed.
According to the personnel in charge of health care, more than 225 people were sent to hospitals as a direct consequence of the violence.
The police said that around 500 people have been arrested in connection with the violence and the retaliation that has taken place.
