The reigning Mrs World was arrested after allegedly injuring a fellow beauty queen when she ripped off her crown on stage and presented it to someone else saying she couldn’t win because she was divorced.
Police in Sri Lanka arrested and bailed Caroline Jurie after the winner of the Mrs Sri Lanka pageant, Pushpika De Silva, filed a complaint.
Jurie was arrested when she came to a police station to record her statement, deputy inspector general Ajith Rohana, said, adding that she was later released on bail.
Rohana said police received a complaint from De Silva that she suffered injuries when her crown was removed.
Rohana said Jurie and a model, Chula Padmendra, were arrested on Thursday on charges of "simple hurt and criminal force" and were later released on bail. The two women have been ordered to appear in court on April 19.
The winner of the Mrs Sri Lanka contest goes on to compete in the Mrs World contest. Jurie, who won that competition in 2020 in Las Vegas, told media she will speak later.
In a Facebook post, Mrs De Silva said she went to hospital to be treated for head injuries after the incident.
“There are a lot of single mums like me today who are suffering in Sri Lanka,” she later told a press conference. “This crown is dedicated to those women, those single mums who are suffering to raise their kids alone.”
She added that she would take legal action for the “unreasonable and insulting” way she was treated.
The prize was returned to her on Tuesday at a news conference, after pageant organisers confirmed she was not a divorcee and apologised to her.
The official Mrs World Instagram account acknowledged De Silva’s victory in a brief post with her photo on Tuesday.
