Arsonists remanded till the 20th

Three persons arrested for setting Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's private residence on fire, has been remanded till the 20th of this month.

They were arrested by the Kollupitiya police today (10). 

The suspects are from Mt. Lavinia, Galle and Kadawatha. 

The Government Analyst investigated the Premier's residence today and the CID has already launched an investigation. 

A protest was held last evening (09) opposite Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's private residence in Colombo and the police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. Several journalists were attacked by the police and Sirasa and Derana journalists were among them. 

Following this, a crowd gathered once more near the Prime Minister's residence and some persons were seeing entering the property. 

Later, smoke and fire were seen from the house. 

The residence housed a large library and the Prime Minister had already bequeathed the property to Royal College in his last will. 

Security forces managed to save part of the book collection. 

However, many items inside the premises were damaged. 

The house next to the Premier's residence also suffered damages.