Mrs. World Caroline Jurie was arrested on Thursday after forcibly removing the tiara off newly crowned Mrs. Sri Lanka Pushpika De Silva’s head at Sunday’s competition.
https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1frPKV.img?h=533&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=684&y=452
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De Silva reportedly suffered injuries from when Jurie pulled off her crown.
Jurie along with model Chula Padmendra were arrested for “charges of simple hurt and criminal cause,” police spokesman Ajith Rohana told BBC.
Reps of Jurie and Padmendra did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
They both were later released on bail and are expected to appear in court on April 19, according to the Associated Press.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5rTt60PT90:146
In the above video of the crowning ceremony published by the Colombo Gazette, Jurie cites a pageant rule that prevents women who have been divorced from winning the title. De Silva reportedly suffered injuries from when Jurie pulled off her crown.
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Mrs. World Caroline Jurie was arrested on Thursday after forcibly removing the tiara off newly crowned Mrs. Sri Lanka Pushpika De Silva’s head at Sunday’s competition.
https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1frJrs.img?h=999&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=553&y=210
© Provided by People caroline jurie/instagram
“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,” Jurie tells the audience.
She then takes the crown from the winner’s head and places it on the runner-up, prompting De Silva to walk offstage the video shows.
In a Facebook post shared on Monday, De Silva admitted she was separated, but not divorced and said she suffered “injuries to my skull” when Jurie “snatched” her crown.
“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,” she wrote in a statement translated from Sinhala.
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© Provided by People pushpika desilva/instagram
Following Jurie’s arrest, the chief organizer of Mrs Sri Lanka pageant, Chandimal Jayasinghe, told the Colombo Gazette that he, Jurie, Padmendra, and De Silva all gave statements at the Cinnamon Gardens Police station before the charges were made.
Jayasinghe also told the BBC that De Silva has been re-crowned and they expect Jurie to issue a formal apology.
“We are disappointed. It was a disgrace how Caroline Jurie behaved on the stage and the Mrs World organization has already begun an investigation on the matter,” he told the outlet.