Minister of Law and Order and Prisons Reforms Tilak Marapana, on the instructions of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, ordered the IGP to submit a report on the police attack on HNDA students in Colombo yesterday.

Thirty nine students were arrested yesterday when the police dispersed the protesting students. Police said that the protesters were stopped when they tried to march towards the Ministry of Higher Education. Police used water cannons and tear gas before baton charging the protesters.

However, the students say that they only demanded a negotiation with the authorities.

Some students alleged that the police baton charged students and chased them towards the University of Visual and Performing Arts.