Govt. suspects invisible hand behind Mahara prison riots; CID to investigate

Glocal
By Editor_1
Special Task Force (STF) personnel deployed at Mahara Prison on the outskirts of Colombo on Monday (Nov 30). Intermittent gunfire rang out on Monday at the  high security prison where a riot by inmates over the spread of pandemic infections left at least eight dead and 55 injured, police said - LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI / AFP
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COLOMBO – The government suspects an ‘invisible hand’ was behind the riots that broke out at the Mahara prison Sunday (29), which left eight inmates dead and at least 55 injured.

State Minister of Prison Reforms & Prisoners’ Rehabilitation, Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle, expounding on the government suspicion, told Parliament Monday (30) morning that investigations regarding the incident will be handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to bring the truth to light.

Fernandopulle claimed a clash between remand prisoners and convicted prisoners had escalated into a full blown riot, and said the deaths had occurred when prison officials opened fire trying to prevent a number of inmates from escaping the facility.

She confirmed earlier reports that eight inmates had died and 50 were injured in the confrontation.

“Yesterday, some inmates tried to escape the Mahara prison, but prison officials were able to stop them by opening fire at them,” she said, adding that remand prisoners, a majority of who had been remanded for drug cases, had clashed with the convicted inmates, causing massive damages to prison properties.

She added that the police, the riot squad and Special Task Force (STF) were deployed to contain the violence and the situation was now fully under control.

Fernandopulle noted that a wave of unrest had erupted within prison facilities acorss the country over the past few months, starting from the Boossa prison and acknowledged the concerns highlighted by opposition lawmakers regarding prisoner health owing to a surge in COVID-19 cases within the country’s overcrowded prisons.

Sri Lanka’s prisons, have a capacity of 11,000 inmates but, according to the state minister, currently hold 32,000 prisoners owing to a series of recent drug busts.

As at Monday morning 1,098 prison inmates had been confirmed as COVID-19 positive, with 386 reported at the Welikada Prison, 46 at the Magazine Prison, 157 at the Colombo Remand Prison, 198 in Mahara, 32 at the Kuruwita Prison and 175 at the Bogambara Prison.

The state minister claimed the government has taken steps to minimise the crowds by directing COVID-19 positive prisoners to the Welikanda Hospital and Polonnaruwa, and moving allwomen inmates to the Kandakadu Rehabilitation Centre.

She also said that following discussion with the Minister of Justice, a mechanism had been developed to produce alleged drug users who are arrested as drug racketeers to courts where verdicts or bail grants would be sought.

“A presidential pardon was also given to over 600 inmates arrested for minor offences for which fines could not be paid,” she pointed out

-economynext.com/ENCL

 

 

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