COLOMBO, June 23 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan Police on Friday arrested the Convenor of the Inter University Students Federation (IUSF), Lahiru Weerasekara, over violent clashes which erupted between students and police on Wednesday.
The police said a probe would be conducted over the protest staged by the IUSF students in front of the Health Ministry on Wednesday which resulted in 85 students and nine policemen being hospitalized.
The Health Ministry property had also been severely damaged as a result of the violent protest with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe calling for a report over the incident.
The police said the students had behaved in an unruly manner after they forcibly entered the Health Ministry building in violation of the court order issued by the Colombo Chief Magistrate.
The protesting students were demanding to abolish the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM), which is the country's only private medical faculty.
As a result of the clashes, doctors attached to the Government Medical Officers Association held an indefinite islandwide strike since Wednesday, severely hampering the medical sector, and leaving thousands of patients stranded.
