Police have arrested Caroline Jurie, winner of Ms. World 2020, after he allegedly injured another contestant during the Mrs. Sri Lanka Beauty Contest Sunday.
During the ceremony, which aired on national television, Jurie, who won Mrs. Sri Lanka in 2019 and won the world lady title, won the crown of 2021 winner Pushpika De Silva. Jurie claimed that De Silva could not win Mrs. Sri Lanka because he was divorced.
The organizer of the competition and De Silva later confirmed that she is still married. De Silva also posted on the incident on Facebook, saying he suffered headaches when his crown was ripped off and that he was treated for injuries, according to BBC News.
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De Silva also said she would take legal action for the “unjustified and insulting” way they treated her.
According to BBC News, police questioned Jurie and Chandimal Jayasinghe, the national director of Mrs Sri Lanka World, about the incident.
Two people have now been arrested, police spokesman Ajith Rohana told BBC News. “Police arrested Caroline Jurie and model Chula Padmendra for Sunday’s incident on charges of simple injury and criminal cause,” Rohana said.
Jurie and Chula Padmendra will appear in court on April 19.
After taking the crown, Jurie had placed him at the head of the first runner-up, but De Silva has already been crowned, organizers of the pageant said. They also expect Jurie to issue public apologies.
“We are disappointed,” Jayasinghe told BBC News after the incident. “It was a disgrace to Caroline Jurie’s behavior on stage and Ms. World’s organization has already begun an investigation into it.”