Eleven staffers, including the manager of the Indian Hut restaurant in the Galle Fort, have been remanded until April 28 following an assault on a group of customers that went viral on social media.
The incident took place on Wednesday night after a dispute over food led to a violent clash between the restaurant’s employees and a group of customers. Six persons, including a 28-year-old man and two minors aged 17 and 14 from Colombo, sustained injuries and were admitted to the Galle National Hospital.
Following investigations, the Galle Police arrested 11 suspects linked to the assault. They were produced before the Galle Magistrate’s Court and remanded until April 28. Further investigations are ongoing.
Chairman of the Galle Fort Civil Protection Committee, Nazar Hussain, strongly condemned the violence and issued an apology on behalf of the Galle Fort community, calling the incident “disgraceful.”
“We want to go on record that the Indian Hut people have taken the building on rent. They are not from the Fort,” Hussain said, adding that no long-term residents of the enclave were involved in the altercation.
He said that this was the first time such an incident had occurred within the historic precincts and added that the Indian Hut had undergone a change in management just a week prior to the clash.
