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Trouble again at J'pura, student slain
By Santhush Fernando
Trouble and tragedy hit the Sri Jayawardenapura University again yesterday when a third-year student was stabbed to death allegedly by a final-year student of a rival faction within the campus premises.

Sampath Wasantha Bandara, an Arts Faculty student from Gokarella in the Kurunegala district, was killed near a statue while he was leaving the university premises last evening. Police said three suspects were arrested but the main suspect was still at large.

The killing is believed to be connected with long-standing rivalry between two student factions, following the slaying of medical student O.V. Samantha in November 2002. Eyewitness Ven Julampitiye Mangala Thera describing yesterday's tragedy said one of the suspects had held Bandara while the other stabbed him.

Duminda Nagomuwa, Convenor of the JVP-backed Inter University Students’ Federation, claimed that the suspect was a member of the Samantha Padanama, which was at odds with the IUSF and the Samantha group had tried to attack some rival students last Wednesday night.

The victim was the Vice-President of the Arts Faculty Students' Union last year. Acting Vice Chancellor Chandima Wijebandara who visited the scene last night told The Sunday Times the student was a victim of a long-standing dispute. He said they had organised monthly meetings to defuse tension between the groups, but he was sad that violence had erupted again.

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