Four police officers were injured and hospitalized after a group of angry protesters pelted stones and laid siege to the Thambuttegama Police Station earlier today (28). 

They have been admitted to the Thambuttegama Hospital, police spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said.

He stated that a police water cannon truck has also been damaged during the incident. 

The Police Spokesman said that 44 suspects including 5 women have been arrested over the attack on the police station and for causing a disturbance.

A tense situation had prevailed at the Thambuttegama town this afternoon as police fired tear gas and water cannons at protesters who were attacking the Thambuttegama Police Station with stones. 

Ada Derana reporter said that a large number of villagers gathered near the police station and staged a protest while blocking the Kurunegala-Anuradhapura road at Police Junction in Thambuttegama. 

The protest was launched against granting permission to a Chinese bottled water company to utilize the Rajanganaya Wewa, which is supplying water to 17,000 acres of cultivations.

The angry mobs pelted stones at the Thambuttegama Police Station and also stormed the premises after they were instructed to clear the road for traffic.

Riot police were later deployed to disperse the protesters.