Maldives Police Service (MPS) has refuted claims that officials of the High Commission of India had visited the individuals arrested over the disruption of the Yoga Day event in Male'.
MPS has arrested 21 individuals over the incident that occurred at the National Stadium on June 21. At a press conference held by their legal representatives, one of the attorneys claimed that Indian high commission officials had met with the suspects while in custody.
However, MPS stated that the claims being circulated by the media are completely false and warned that spreading such baseless claims threatens to undermine public trust in the police service and create fear and distrust in the community. Therefore, MPS urged media outlets to verify such claims before circulating them.
The International Yoga Day event was held on June 21 at the National Stadium with Minister of Youth, Sports, and Community Empowerment Ahmed Mahloof, Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives Munu Mahawar, and foreign diplomats in attendance. The violent disruption occurred after several individuals gathered nearby to protest the event and later broke through the police barricades and entered the stadium.
The Serious and Organised Crime Department of the Crime Investigation Command of the MPS is investigating the incident. MPS stated that the perpetrators had sought to incite fear by forcefully entering, destroying property, and attempting to assault participants of the event.