A Sri Lankan federal minister on Monday alleged that "certain Indian officials" wanted President Mahinda Rajapaksa to lose the recent polls and worked towards it, but India rejected the claims saying it does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

The United Nations has proposed to set up an expert panel to look into alleged human rights violations during the last phase of the civil war in Sri Lanka, triggering a sharp reaction from the country's President Mahinda Rajapaksa who rejected the move.

Violence continued in Sri Lanka for the second staraight day today as agitated supporters of defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka demanded his immediate release and fought pitched battles with police, who used batons to disperse them.

Sri Lanka's defeated opposition presidential candidate Gen Sarath Fonseka was tonight arrested by the military police, a fortnight after he suffered defeat at the hands of incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa today said national reconciliation involving Tamils and other communities was a priority for his government after nearly three decades of ethnic war that led to liberation of the country from the clutches of "separatist terror".