COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s police arrested key suspects involved in fuelling religious riots and looting, an official said yesterday as minority Muslims expressed fears of more unrest ahead of Ramadan.
Police said a total of eight people directly linked to the June 15 anti-Muslim riots were arrested this week and gems and jewellery looted from two shops that were targeted during the violence were recovered.
“With the help of CCTV footage and the recently established (police) intelligence network we arrested the suspects along with the stolen goods,” senior superintendent Athula Weerasinghe said.
The violence, which erupted in the coastal resort of Alutgama, spilled over into the neighbouring international tourist resorts of Beruwala and Bentota.
Weerasinghe said jewellery worth more than 1.5 million rupees that was looted from two jewellery shops in Bentota was recovered.
Sri Lanka’s media as well as rights groups have accused the police of failing to prevent extremist Buddhist mobs attacking Muslims, who constitute 10 percent of the country’s 20 million population.
Police, however, said investigations showed there was a strong criminal element that fuelled religious tensions. Afp
