CID to probe torching of PM’s private residence

Sri Lanka Police says that investigations into the incident of setting fire to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s private residence in Colombo have been handed over to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).

On Sunday, the police arrested three people for setting Wickremesinghe’s private residence on fire during the Saturday violence.

According to reports, protesters entered the PM’s private residence at Cambridge Place in Colombo and set it on fire, inflicting extensive damage to the property and damaging a luxury sedan.

Among the arrested suspects is a 19-year-old residing in Mount Lavinia. The other two suspects were identified as residents of Kadawatha and Galle areas, aged 24 and 28 respectively.

More arrests are on the anvil, as the police have widened their scope of investigations, the police spokesman said.

During a protest staged outside the prime minister’s private residence last night, a group of people had stormed the premises which was later set on fire.

The residence was replete with a rare collection of books and old Buddha statues, most of which Wickremesinghe had inherited, a spokesperson of the Prime Minister’s Office said.

The incident came hours after Wickremesinghe offered to resign to make way for an all-party government.

Island-wide mass public protests were organized yesterday, demanding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to resign immediately.

Meanwhile the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) says that a special investigation is being conducted regarding the power outage in the vicinity of the Prime Minister’s private residence in Colombo at the time it was set on fire. 

He said no power cuts were scheduled after 6.00 pm yesterday across the island wide and therefore a proper investigation will be conducted by the PUCSL to reveal the truth of non-availability of power at that time.