COLOMBO (NYTIMES) - Last year's winner of Mrs World, a beauty pageant for married women, said she would return her crown after she snatched one off the head of the 2021 winner of Mrs Sri Lanka World, claiming that she was divorced - a violation of pageant rules.

Ms Pushpika de Silva had just been crowned Mrs Sri Lanka World at a pageant in Colombo last weekend when Caroline Jurie, the 2020 Mrs World winner, took the stage and announced that "there is a rule that you have to be married and not divorced".

"So," she said, "I'm taking my first step saying that the crown goes to the first runner-up."

Jurie, 28, then yanked the crown off Ms de Silva's head, pulling her hair in the process, before placing it on the runner-up, who was holding back tears and later gave an acceptance speech.

Ms de Silva left the stage as Jurie, the two runners-up and Chula Padmendra, a Sri Lankan model who was also on stage, hugged. Padmendra applauded and raised her fist in the air victoriously.

The Mrs World pageant describes itself on Facebook as "the first beauty pageant in the world for married women, created in 1984".

Jurie was crowned Mrs World at the 2020 pageant in Las Vegas, according to the organisation's website.

Ms de Silva said in a Facebook post after the episode that she was separated and not divorced. She said she had sustained "injuries to my skull" and was pursuing legal action against Jurie "for the injustice and insult that has taken place".

The police arrested Jurie and Padmendra "on charges of simple hurt and criminal cause", BBC News reported.

A representative for the Mrs World organisation, which is based in California, according to its Facebook page, referred a request for comment to "where the incident occurred, in Sri Lanka".

One of the pageant's organisers, Mr Chandimal Jayasinghe, told BBC News: "We are disappointed. It was a disgrace how Caroline Jurie behaved on the stage and the Mrs World organisation has already begun an investigation on the matter."

Jurie, who is Sri Lankan, said in a video posted on Instagram that she wanted to "express my dismay over the recent actions that led to controversy" and that she "only wanted a fair stage".