A group of intoxicated supporters of Minister of Plantation Industries D.M. Jayaratne and Minister of Power Mahindananda Aluthgamage had been attacked by students of University of Peradeniya today (31st) when they had attempted to assault several students.

According to university sources a group from the Coconut Development Board that comes under Minister Jayaratne and a group of supporters of Minister Aluthgamage have entered the university premises while they were going on an excursion. They had misbehaved in the university premises singing and making a commotion. Later several people had entered the university garden and tried to misbehave with a woman who had been with them.   

Students from the university had arrived there and asked the people not to misbehave in the university premises and had requested them to leave the place. Then those who had come on the excursion had threatened the students stating they were Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage’s people, it was their territory and they could do anything in their territory.

Later they have had their lunch at ‘Ambalama’ where students do their studies and when they had littered the area with paper and polythene they had used to wrap their lunch packets, students had protested. Students had said such behavior had not been seen in the university premises before and had stated that students always discard their litter into garbage cans. The students had asked the visitors to clean the place where they had had their lunch.

At this several drunken persons had assaulted the students. When this information reached other students they had come in numbers and attacked the visitors. In the melee several buses that had brought visitors were damaged. 

A Dean of a Faculty of the University said a group of people who had been intoxicated had entered the university premises and misbehaved. When students objected to their behavior they had assaulted the students. Speaking further he said outsiders entering university premises when a security section has been established in the university is a question.