Assault on medical students: Six including Arundika Fernando’s son remanded

The son of State Minister Arundika Fernando and five others who were arrested in connection with the assault on students of Kelaniya University’s Faculty of Medicine in Ragama have been remanded.

Accordingly, the suspects will be kept in remand custody until the 7th of February.

They were produced before Wattala Magistrate’s Court this morning.

The lawmaker’s son, a 23-year-old named Avinda Randila Jehan Fernando was arrested after he surrendered to the Ragama Police last night through a lawyer.

The BMW used by the assailants was meanwhile taken into custody in the area of Kalubowila.

A total of seven suspects involved in the incident are currently under arrest on charges of assault, causing injuries, forceful entry, unlawful assembly and misuse of a vehicle belonging to a state institution.

Six were apprehended yesterday and one of them, an injured student, is being treated at the Negombo Hospital.

It was reported yesterday that a group of 10-15 outsiders had forcibly entered the men’s hostel of the Kelaniya University’s Faculty of Medicine in Ragama at around 3.00 a.m. and attacked several students.

As per reports, four students who sustained injuries in the incident were admitted to the Colombo North Teaching Hospital in Ragama. One of them was later transferred to the Negombo Hospital for further treatment.

The suspects had reportedly arrived in two cars and had fled after the attack, however, the students had managed to apprehend one of the individuals along with a car, which reportedly belongs to the Coconut Development Authority. 

An official ID, issued in 2018 to a driver of State Minister Arundika Fernando’s personal staff, was found inside the car.

The police recorded statements from almost 10 eyewitnesses who were present at the time of the incident.