According to police, unrest intensified after a youth from the Kahahena area, who had arrived at the Hanwella Police Station to lodge a complaint regarding the incident, was allegedly assaulted by a police officer inside the station. Following this, area residents gathered near the police station, leading to a highly tense situation.
Police stated that the incident initially began near a main temple in the Hanwella Kahahena area when a group, including a robed individual who had arrived from outside the area, went to inspect a plot of land to construct another shrine close to the main temple. A disagreement reportedly arose between the group and local residents.
Subsequently, the chief incumbent of the temple intervened, resolved the situation, and asked the group to leave the area. However, a short time later, two vehicles carrying the same group reportedly returned to the location, resulting in another confrontation, police said.
Police further stated that the situation escalated when a person who had accompanied the robed individual—claiming to be a former Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police—allegedly threatened to open fire using a pistol-type firearm in his possession.
(By K. Buddhika Kumarasiri and H. S. A. Nandana)