NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th July, 2022) Sri Lankan police arrested three individuals suspected of setting fire to the private residence of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in Sri Lanka's Colombo, media reported on Sunday, citing local police.
The three suspects are residents of the city of Galle and two suburbs of Colombo, Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia and Ja-Elaand, according to Newswire online portal.
Local media have also shared footage demonstrating that the fire had caused significant interior damage to the building with several rooms appearing to be completely destroyed.
Colombo was rocked by another wave of mass protests on Saturday. Crowds tore through the barricades surrounding the presidential residence, climbed over the fence and took control of the area. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was reportedly evacuated. He is expected to resign on July 13, according to Sri Lankan newspaper Adaderana.
Parliamentary Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana has informed Rajapaksa of the decisions made at a Saturday emergency meeting of the party leaders, which was convened in response to the mass protests in Colombo. The letter called for the immediate resignation of Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe and provided for convening the parliament within seven days to appoint an acting president.
