Colombo, Aug 24 : Sri Lanka would soon set up committees led by Members of Parliament to investigate series of vigilante violence, sparked by a fear of night-time prowlers known as "grease devils".

The BBC quoted President Mahinda Rajapaksa as saying that committees led by government MPs will work with police to tackle the problem plaguing rural areas in Sri Lanka.

The "grease devils" have been accused of assaulting women at night in recent weeks, and residents have accused the security forces of involvement in the attacks.

Although the police have denied any wrongdoing, there has been a wave of retaliatory attacks and vigilante action in the areas affected by the night-time prowlers, the report said.

In the northern town of Jaffna, dozens of people were detained on Tuesday in connection with reprisal violence over the "grease-devil" scare, but there are conflicting accounts of the circumstances that led to the arrests.

Most of the attacks have reportedly taken place in rural Muslim and Tamil-majority areas in northern and central parts of the island.

Residents have accused the police of releasing suspects captured by townspeople without charge, which the later have denied terming the allegations as ‘baseless’. (ANI)