June 21, Colombo: A Muslim owned fashion store in Sri Lanka's Panadura town in the outskirts of Colombo district was set ablaze in the pre-dawn hours of today.

The burnt shop belonged to the Nolimit fashion network owned by Muslims.

The multi-storey fashion store with space for parking and modern facilities was a newly established major attraction in the city.

A resident of the town said that the shop has been severely damaged.

Additional police and Special Task Force personnel have been deployed in the area to tighten security.

Nolimit shops were continuously targeted by the Buddhist extremists and they demanded the Sinhalese not to visit the shops during festive seasons to buy clothes.

In an earlier occasion, the Buddhist extremists threw rotten eggs at shoppers who were coming out of the Nolimit shops and distributed the photos through social networks with further warning to discourage shoppers visiting Muslim-owned stores.