Colombo, Sep 24: Harini Amarasuriya was sworn in as Sri Lanka's new Prime Minister on Tuesday, becoming the first woman leader since Sirimavo Bandaranaike in the year 2000 to hold the post.

The 54-year-old National People's Power (NPP) leader was sworn in by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who appointed his cabinet of four, including himself.

She has been assigned the portfolios of the Minister of Justice, Education, Labour, Industries, Science & Tech, Health, and Investment.

She has replaced Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, who resigned from his post following the presidential election.

A rights activist and university lecturer, Amarasuriya is the first woman Prime Minister of Sri Lanka since the late Sirimavo Bandaranaike took up office in 1994 and the third female Prime Minister in the country's history.

NPP parliamentarians Vijitha Herath and Laxman Nipunarachchi were sworn in as cabinet ministers.

They would serve as the caretaker cabinet with the imminent dissolution of parliament to call for a snap parliamentary election.

The election could happen in late November, officials said.

Dissanayake, 56, was sworn in as Sri Lanka's ninth president on Sunday following his victory in the presidential election.

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Shivpuri (PTI): The 60-year-old mother of a rape accused was killed allegedly by the victim's brother in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district, a police official said on Saturday.

The incident took place on Friday, Rannod police station house officer (SHO) Arvind Chauhan said.

"An anganwadi worker returning from a hospital was offered a lift by one Inder Gurjar, who took her to a secluded spot and raped her. She called up her brothers to narrate the ordeal. One brother of the victim along with two associates went to Gurjar's house and assaulted him. When Gurjar's mother Sirkunwarbai (60) intervened, she was attacked with a sharp weapon. She died on the spot," he said.

Based on a complaint filed by the deceased woman's daughter-in-law, three persons were booked for murder. One of them was held on Saturday, the official added.

A separate case has also been registered against Gurjar for rape, he said.

Police personnel have been deployed in the area in view of tension following the incident, the official added.