Tension in Chilaw over hostile Facebook post

• Police curfew imposed  
• Man who posted content on FB arrested   

By Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya, Lalith Nawarathne and Augustine Fernando   

The military fired shots in the air to disperse two groups in Chilaw yesterday following a tense situation which later led the police to impose curfew within the Chilaw Police Division since yesterday afternoon until 4 a.m. today.    

A group of people stormed the Chilaw Town yesterday following a Facebook post which reportedly an alleged warning.   

It was reported that a son of a Muslim businessman in Chillaw had reportedly published the post on the social media.   

The tense situation arose when several youth who gathered outside the Chilaw Police urged the police to arrest the individual responsible of sharing the post.   
Thereafter, the group started to behave in an aggressive manner while roaming in the Chilaw town on motor cycles and trishaws.   

The angry crowds who stormed into a shop at Chilaw town, allegedly attacked a person, who is said to be connected to the individual who posted the content on FB.    
The security forces who responded the matter tried to disperse the crowds by firing shots in the air.   

All the shops in the town were asked to closed down due to the situation and the security was tightened.   

Police said they had arrested the individual who posted content on Facebook, harmful to ethnic unity.   

Meanwhile, an office of the Sri Lanka Thawheed Jama’ath organization in Chilaw and another house said to be a praying centre were also attacked.   

The security forces later managed to disperse the crowds and brought the situation under control.     

Tense situation arose when several youth who gathered outside the Chilaw Police urged the police to arrest the individual responsible of sharing the post

Curfew imposed in Kuliyapitiya, Dummalasuriya and Bingiriya 

• Violence broke out after a heated argument between two groups of individuals
• Some people laid siege to the police station demanding the release of a few suspects arrested

BY Kelum Bandara

A curfew was imposed in the police divisions of Kuliyapitiya, Dummalasuriya and Bingiriya due to a tense situation, the police said.  

The police curfew will be in effect till 6.00 am today. According to reports, violence broke out after a heated argument between two groups of individuals. A few shops have been damaged subsequently. Also, some people laid siege to the police station demanding the release of a few suspects arrested in connection with the incident.   
People even contacted area politicians to prevail upon the police to release the suspects.