The newly crowned Mrs. Sri Lanka Pushpika De Silva’s tiara was forcefully taken from her at the competition by Ms. World Caroline Jurie. She was arrested on Thursday for conducting this act at the competition.
According to People magazine, De Silva was allegedly wounded when Jurie took her crown off.
For this “criminal charge of the injustice,” Jurie and the Model Chula Padmendra have been arrested, told BBC police spokesperson Ajith Rohana. Representatives of Jurie and Padmendra did not answer PEOPLE’s requests for comments immediately.
The two of them were released on bail and, according to the Associated Press, are due to appear at court on 19 April.
Jurie spoke to the public.
“There is a rule that you have to be married and not divorced, so I am taking my first steps in saying that the crown goes to the first runner-up,”
She took the crown from the winner’s head and put it up, pushing De Silva off the field.
De Silva accepted that she was separated but not divorced in a Facebook post on Monday, and she said that she had “my calf blessings” when Jurie “caught” her crown.
There is a rule that for Mrs. Srilanka, all participants must be married, while Jurie pulled off De Silva’s crown. It was found that she wasn’t divorced but only separated.
She wrote in a statement,
So, even though that symbolic crown has been snatched from my head, I would like to inform you that I have already taken the necessary legal action for the injustice and insult that has taken place.
After Jurie was arrested, Chandimal Jayasinghe, chief organizer of the pageant Ms. Sri Lanka, told the Colombo Gazette that all claims were made by Jurie, Padmendra, and De Silva before the charges were brought.
Jayasinghe also spoke to the BBC that De Silva was crowned again and that Jurie was expected to make a formal apology.
After the arrest of Jurie, Chandimal Jayasinghe, the chief organizer of Sri Lanka’s pageant, told Colombo Gazette that he, Jurie, Padmendra, and De Silva had all given statements before the charges had been brought before Cinnamon Gardens Police Station.
The video above shows the incident very clearly as to what happened on the stage. Obviously, the previous Mrs. Sri Lanka did not have any authority to do so the most that could have been done was if she had any doubts, she could’ve turned to the authorities of the event.
It is reported that De Silva suffered from serious head injuries when the crown was pulled off her head by Jurie. Despite all sympathies for De Silva it is hard to believe that any injuries occurred. Maybe a scratch or two, but its hard to believe anything major happened.
De Silva also stated that the authorities weren’t sleeping all this time and had complete information about her marital status. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have got this far! Also, Jurie has no right to take such a step. If she had reservations, she could have complained or checked with the management of the event.
On Monday, De Silva was crowned again by the event organizers making it clear that she really is Mrs. Srilanka and she is not divorced, which makes her completely fit to compete in the contest.
De Silva wanted to dedicate this award to mothers like her, and the crown is for all these women and mothers who struggle and do everything possible to raise their children alone.
