Sri Lankan police on Friday arrested Inter University Students Federation (IUSF) leader Lahiru Weerasekara following violent clashes between students and security forces.
The police said a probe would be conducted over the protest staged by the IUSF in front of the Health Ministry on Wednesday which resulted in 85 students and nine policemen being hospitalised, reports Xinhua news agency.
The Health Ministry property had also been severely damaged as a result of the violent protest.
The police said the students had behaved in an unruly manner after they forcibly entered the ministry building in violation of the order issued by the Colombo Chief Magistrate.
The students wanted the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM), Sri Lanka's only private medical faculty, to close down.
As a result of the clashes, doctors attached to the Government Medical Officers Association went on an indefinite island-wide strike on Wednesday, severely hampering the medical sector and leaving thousands of patients stranded.
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--IANS
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