All 57 individuals, arrested for forcibly entering the Education Ministry premises, have been placed behind bars on remand until February 27.

The arrestees – 48 student monks of the Buddhist & Pali University, Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF) convenor Wasantha Mudalige and 08 others – were produced before the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court today (Feb 24).

They were taken into custody for storming the premises of Education Ministry in Pelawatte, Battaramulla yesterday (Feb 23).

The protesters urged the authorities to reopen the Buddhist & Pali University and to take action against the Sri Lanka Police, over the force used against them at the Satyagraha held at Pitipana Junction in Homagama on February 22.

Water cannons and tear gas were fired by the Police during the Satyagraha staged by a group of student Buddhist monks of the Inter-University Bikkhu Federation (IUBF), in an attempt to disperse them.

Meanwhile, a protest was staged in front of the Education Ministry this afternoon against the arrest of student activists.

Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) secretary Joseph Stalin, who joined the demonstration, pledged to go to courts over the matter.

Against this backdrop, the police dismissed the accusations levelled against them for “brutally assaulting” the protesters last evening.

Police spokesperson SSP Nihal Thalduwa, issuing a statement in this regard, claimed that the protesters, including Buddhist student monks, have damaged the properties of the Education Ministry while obstructing the duties of the officials at the premises.

(CTU secretary at the protest staged today against the arrest of student activists)