Chief Minister Dayasiri intervenes in Kurunegala Wenusha's issue
The issue relating to the suicide of student Wenusha Imandi as a result of being reprimanded by the Principal of Sir John Kotelawala school about which an uproar was created during last week was a period when Chief Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera was out of the island.
A fast was staged by Wenusha's supporters asking the Principal responsible for the incident be removed while in the process a political element headed by the Principal concerned has been engaged in a fast saying that the Principal is good and thus is trying to sabotage the said fast.
A rumour had spread around that this Principal is on a strong footing because of a political backing of a certain parliamentarian and the Chief Minister is taking steps to resolve the conflict that has now sprung up between these two parties.
The Chief Minister who says that he had come to know about this matter through the internet during his sojourn overseas and that he understood the situation after communicating with close associates. He also mentioned that if no impartial decision is taken on this matter, the situation could aggravate and therefore had instructed the Director of Education of the province to forward a report to him in connection with the incident in 3 days' time.
The parents of the deceased student complain that student Wenusha Imandi Bandara was made to get into a depressed state of mind by being reprimanded with foul language and that she committed suicide because of that reason and that the principal is trying to express his innocence by bringing forward false information to the media that the student was suffering from a mental condition.
The fast which her mother, father, younger sister and two other parents started on Monday (Feb 10) morning against the Principal was continuing upto the 11th in front of the Welagedera Playground, Dambulla Road, Kurunegala and some students of the school too, it is learnt had joined the fast.
The seven-day almsgiving of the deceased student Wenusha Imandi was held yesterday afternoon at her home. Wenusha Imandi's father, Mr. P.B. Arunasiri had this to say yesterday: "The only request we make is for this Principal be transferred from this school. He scolded my daughter in obscene language ... made statements to the newspaper saying that she was a mental patient. He told that my child who was clever not only in dancing, singing and playing instruments but even for education ... a prostitute. Because of that I even secured a medical report from a Specialist Doctor to prove her virginity".
A protest that was to be staged on Tuesday (Feb 11) morning by Old Students of the school and some parents in front of the school demanding the authorities not to remove Principal Saman Indraratna from the school was stopped on orders of Kurunegala police and later, some parents and Old Students had signed a statement requesting that the Principal be not removed from the school.
While certain sections of the crowd had attempted to stop it by saying that this fast was a black mark on the Principal, the police tried to stop it by going as far as obtaining a court order.
Mr. Ravindra Premaratna, Kurunegala Magistrate declined the request made by the police asking to issue an order to stop the fast on grounds that launching a protest was the Right of the people and for that reason it cannot be stopped. The hope of the protestors now is that the Chief Minister would take action against the Principal.
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