IANS
Colombo

Sri Lanka yesterday said that it was still investigating allegations of an alleged coup attempt during the January 8 presidential elections.
President Maithripala Sirisena said that in his opinion, there was no “conspiracy” but some sort of discussions had taken place in an attempt to prevent the new government from taking power, reported Xinhua.
Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera had filed a police complaint alleging that outgoing president Mahinda Rajapakse and some members of his government had attempted to stage a coup by using the military and police.
Rajapakse, however, denied the claims and said that the discussion held at his house was only to ensure a smooth transfer of power to the new president.
“The investigations into this incident are still continuing,” Sirisena said.
He said that there was information to the effect that there was an attempt by the former regime to impose a curfew soon after the January 8 presidential elections which Sirisena won.
Former defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse had also been accused of being involved in the alleged coup attempt but he had also denied the claims.

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