Muslims allege that police shot dead Mr Junaid and wounded three others. A curfew was imposed in the area from 2pm. The police have also been accused of allowing the destruction of Muslim homes before taking action. As violence continued, police extended the curfew to Grandpass, Dematagoda, Kotahena and Modera suburbs, from 2pm on 31 October to 6am on 1 November. Some 3,000 soldiers were deployed in the area.
The problem arose when, in August, Muslims planned to extend a religious school, established in Maligawatte in 1999. After Buddhist monks from the nearby Bodhirajaramaya temple alleged that the extension would infringe Buddhist rights, a court rejected police claims that there would be breach of law and order. The court ordered in favour of the extension.
As Buddhist and Muslim leaders appealed for calm, Interior minister John Amaratunge appointed a four-member committee of enquiry headed by the Mayor of Colombo. Parliamentary Affairs minister AHM Azwer says that the Sinhala extremist organisation Weeravidhana was behind the violence.