Rajapaksa's son arrested for protesting outside Indian consulate
11 Oct 2017 4:28 PM GMT
Colombo: The elder son of former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa has been arrested along with two other parliamentarians for protesting outside the Indian consulate in Hambantota over the proposed lease of an airport to an Indian company.
The members of the Joint Opposition backing ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa staged the demonstration to protest the Sri Lankan government's deal with India to handover the Mattala Mahinda Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) in Hambantota in the country's Southern Province.
This was a major infrastructure project of Rajapaksa during his presidency with loan support coming from China.
Namal Rajapaksa and six other protestors were summoned by the Hambantota police last night to record a statement over the violence at the demonstration, police said.
They have been accused of causing damage to public property, unlawful assembly and defying a court order not to hold demonstrations in the Hambantota judicial area.
They were produced before the Hambantota magistrate and ordered to be remanded until October 16 at the Tangalle remand prison, the police added.
"We recorded statements from organisers and taken those responsible into custody," a police spokesman said.
The number of people arrested since Friday over the incident now has risen to 40.
The Opposition said they stand opposed to the selling of state assets by the government to foreign entities.
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