Dean says students’ security threatened

A release by the Dean’s Office of the Colombo University Medical Faculty said following the tragic incident at the Eastern University, University Students’ lives are threatened and entering the faculty without permission led to the recent clash between the media personnel and students.

It further said: On August 28 at around 11.30 a.m. two persons of unknown identity were taking photographs of the hostel and its surroundings. These two persons repeatedly refused the request of the sub-warden to produce their identity and continued photographing.

They used abusive language and physically attacked the sub-warden when he informed them they had no permission from the university authority to take photographs of the hostel.

His action in response to their behaviour was to ensure the security of the establishment as instructed by the authorities of the University in keeping with public vigilance requested by the Government via the print and electronic media in the recent past. Subsequently persons from an electronic media establishment also forcibly entered the premises of the hostel in spite of the efforts of the security personnel and the police officers who had been summoned earlier.

The arrival of the electronic media group worsened the tense situation. The students acted to protect the sub warden from further attack and to maintain the security of the establishment, it said.