Six police officers arrested in connection with the alleged assault on a Catholic priest were remanded until today (26) after being produced before the Gampaha Magistrate’s Court yesterday (25).

Those remanded include three police sergeants and three constables who were taken into custody yesterday morning (25).

The incident is reported to have taken place while the officers were on duty in the Walpola area of Gampaha. According to police accounts, the officers had pursued a motorcycle that allegedly failed to comply with an order to stop. However, reports indicate that a subsequent confrontation led to a violent assault on the rider.

The victim has reportedly been identified as a Catholic priest serving as an assistant estate administrator at a farm in Kotadeniyawa managed by a Catholic congregation. At the time of the incident, he was returning after conducting Mass at a Church and was reportedly dressed in clerical vestments.

Following the assault, the priest was allegedly left on the roadside and later admitted to the District General Hospital in Negombo with severe injuries.