The ancestral home of the Rajapaksas in Hambantota has been set on fire by a group of anti-government protestors, hours after Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned on Monday as Sri Lanka's prime minister. The entire house of Mahinda Rajapaksa and his younger brother and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Medamulana in Hambantota city was burning away as protestors hooted away.

Mahinda's House in Kurunegala was also set on fire by protesters while a mob destroyed DA Rajapaksa Memorial - constructed in the memory of the father of Mahinda and Gotabaya - in Medamulana, Hambantota. Earlier, Mahinda's supporters attacked anti-government protesters at MynaGoGama and GotaGoGama protest sites in Colombo. Several properties of ministers and lawmakers of the ruling coalition were destroyed by the protesters. Sri Lankan media also reported that a fire has broken out near the back gate of Temple Trees, the official residence of the Sri Lankan Prime Minister in Colombo.

Three people were killed, including a ruling party MP, and more than 150 injured in violence in the capital. The protests have been ongoing for over a month over soaring prices and power cuts.

On the ongoing protest, Kotak Mahindra Bank CEO Uday Kotak tweeted, "The Russia Ukraine war goes on and the going gets tough. The true test of nations is now. The strength of institutions like the judiciary, regulators, police, government, Parliament will matter. Doing what is right and not populist is crucial. A "burning Lanka" tells all what not to do!"

The Russia Ukraine war goes on and the going gets tough. True test of nations is now. Strength of institutions like the judiciary, regulators, police, Government, Parliament will matter. Doing what is right and not populist is crucial. A “burning Lanka” tells all what not to do!

— Uday Kotak (@udaykotak) May 10, 2022

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from Britain in 1948.

With inputs from PTI

First Published:May 10, 2022 10:16 AM IST