COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) – Sri Lankan police arrested the reigning Ms World on Thursday for pulling the crown off the head of a Sri Lankan beauty pageant winner and causing injuries. She was later released on bail.
Caroline Jurie, who won the Mrs. World 2020 competition, was accused of injuring Pushpika De Silva, who won the title of Mrs. Sri Lanka in a televised contest held on Sunday in Colombo.
Moments after De Silva won the title, Jurie, who is also Sri Lankan, took the stage and snatched her crown, saying she was ineligible because she was divorced. The jury then awarded the crown to the first place, declaring that it was the winner.
In a statement on her Facebook page, De Silva denied that she was divorced.
“Being separated is one thing. Divorce is something else. I am still a divorced woman “, she wrote.
Police spokesman Ajith Rohana said police had received a complaint from De Silva that he had been injured when his crown was lifted.
Rohana said Jurie and a model, Chula Padmendra, were arrested on Thursday on charges of “simple injury and criminal force” and were later released on bail. The two women were ordered to appear in court on April 19.
Jurie declined to comment when he left the police station.
The incident at Sunday’s contest, in which the prime minister’s wife participated, created a huge giant in the Indian Ocean island country. On Monday, the organizers of the contest said they would return De Silva’s crown.