Sri Lanka: Mrs World Caroline Jurie arrested after chaos at beauty pageant
Jurie forcibly removed the crown of the 2021 Mrs Sri Lanka winner, claiming that she was not eligible for the title as she was divorced.
The Sri Lankan police on Thursday arrested Caroline Jurie, the reigning Mrs World, after she forcibly removed the crown of the 2021 Mrs Sri Lanka beauty pageant winner last week and caused her an injury, the BBC reported. Jurie won the Mrs Sri Lanka pageant in 2019.
“Police arrested Caroline Jurie and model Chula Padmendra over Sunday’s incident on charges of simple hurt and criminal cause,” Sri Lankan police spokesperson Ajith Rohana told the news network.
The Mrs Sri Lanka 2021 pageant descended into chaos after Jurie claimed that the winner, Pushpika De Silva, could not be given the title as she was divorced. She then removed De Silva’s crown and placed it on the head of the runner up. Padmendra is accused of helping Jurie.
De Silva later clarified that she was separated from her partner and not divorced, according to Reuters. “If I wasn’t fit at the beginning of this tournament they could have removed me,” she said. The crown was later returned to De Silva.
In a Facebook post in Sinhala, De Silva said that she had to seek treatment for her head injuries, according to the BBC. De Silva added that she was treated in an “unreasonable and insulting” manner and would take legal action against Jurie.
The police questioned both Jurie and the organiser of the Mrs Sri Lanka pageant on Tuesday, according to the BBC.