Nine arrested over attack on medical faculty students granted bail

The nine suspects arrested in connection with the attack on medical faculty students in Ragama, including MP Arundika Fernando’s son, have been granted bail by the Wattala Magistrate’s Court.  

The suspects were ordered released on bail after being produced before the Wattala Magistrate today (07). 

A group of individuals had forcibly entered the men’s hostel of the Kelaniya University’s Faculty of Medicine in Ragama at around 3.00 a.m. on February 02 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 former State Minister Arundika Fernando’s personal staff, was found inside the car.

A total of nine suspects involved in the incident, including the MP’s son, were arrested on charges of assault, causing injuries, forceful entry, unlawful assembly and misuse of a vehicle belonging to a state institution. They had been remanded until today (07) by the court. 

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

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