Sri Lanka called out the military on Thursday to bolster security ahead of a funeral for the first person killed during weeks of running anti-government protests in the island nation.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa ordered the three-day deployment to maintain order in the central town of Rambukkana, where police dispersed a demonstration with live rounds and tear gas on Tuesday.
A 42-year-old man was shot dead in Tuesday's melee and nearly 30 others were wounded.
"To ensure there are no incidents during and after the burial, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa invoked public security provisions," Sri Lanka's information department said in a statement.
The military "will assist the police in maintaining public order" until Saturday, it added.
Police violently broke up the Rambukkana protest after a crowd blocked a railway line and highway connecting the capital Colombo with the central city of Kandy to protest oil shortages and high prices.
A curfew imposed in Rambukkana was lifted on Thursday, but heavily armed police were seen patrolling the streets.
A judicial inquiry into the shooting is under way.
Sri Lanka is suffering its most painful economic downturn since 1948, with months of lengthy blackouts and acute shortages of food, fuel and other essentials causing widespread misery.
Protesters have demanded Rajapaksa step down over the government's mismanagement of the crisis, and a large crowd has been camped outside his seafront office in Colombo since April 9 to call for his resignation.
Dharavi slum in Mumbai
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads not guilty to murder of BBC presenter's family
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC sports commentator John Hunt in a crossbow and knife attack.
Kyle Clifford, who also faces charges of rape, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.
Clifford, arrested in July after a manhunt, is charged with three counts of murder, one count each of rape and false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a 10-inch knife and a crossbow.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session.
He is expected to enter a plea for that charge at a later date.
The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
An earlier hearing revealed that Louise had been found tied up and that both she and her sister had been shot with a crossbow, while their mother had been stabbed with a knife.
The fatal attack occurred at the family’s home in Bushey, a commuter town near Watford, northwest of London.
(With inputs from AFP)