A mob beat a top Sri Lankan police officer and set fire to his vehicle near the prime minister’s official residence in Colombo on Tuesday, according to authorities.

The highest-ranking officer in Colombo, Senior Deputy Inspector-General Deshabandu Tennakoon, “required emergency treatment and has returned home,” according to a senior police official.

He said that reinforcements hurried to the scene and fired warning shots to save the cop, who was attacked despite a statewide curfew imposed following major disturbances on Monday.

The officer was in charge of security arrangements in the capital when pro-government activists attacked peaceful marchers seeking the president’s resignation.

After thousands tried to storm the building overnight, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who resigned as prime minister on Monday, had to be escorted out of his residence by security forces before dawn the next morning.

Deshabandu was wearing civilian clothes and was accompanied by two officers when he was attacked, with the angry mob accusing him of supporting pro-government activists.

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