Homagama police yesterday carried out a raid on a park run by a private institution in Homagama on complaints that underage children were allowed to engage in sexual activities in cubicles at the park and found 24 young couples in the cubicles.

Police said they carried out the raid on a search warrant issued by Homagama magistrate in response to complaints received from parents, religious dignitaries.

A senior police official said several couples were behaving in a indecent manner and they had even stripped their clothes. Investigations revealed that most of them had left home under the pretext of attending tuition classes.

The police summoned their parents and handed them over after severely reprimanding them. The parents were advised to take care of their children and to prevent them from being led astray in this manner.

An individual in charge of the institution had engaged in a heated argument with the police.

-daily mirror