Police arrested 33 individuals at a protest held opposite the Parliament Roundabout today. The protest was organized by the Inter University Students' Federation (IUSF), the Ceylon Teachers' Union (CTU) and the Frontline Socialist Party (FLSP).
They were protesting against the Sir John Kotelawala Defence University Bill, which was being debated in Parliament today.
The Welikada Police took them into custody on charges of violating quarantine laws.
Among those taken into custody was CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin.
There were angry scenes as police attempted to arrest the protesters, with officers dragging away many of them, including young and elderly women and several members of the clergy.
Those arrested were produce before the Colombo Magistrate's Court, where Additional Magistrate Kanchana Neranjani De Silva, who ordered them to be released on personal bail of Rs 25, 000 each.
However, a tense situation arose outside the Magistrate's Court when police attempted to take the protesters to quarantine and they refused. Eventually, police forcibly took the individuals to a quarantine centre in buses.
Pix by Eshan Fernando
A Sri Lanka Air Force Bell 212 helicopter belonging to the No. 72 squadron has crashed into the Madhuru Oya reservoir this morning, Air FOrce Media Spokesman Eranda Geeganage said.
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