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On Monday, the Sri Lankan government ordered a thorough investigation into a prisoner riot over rising coronavirus infections in a prison outside the Colombo capital that left at least eight prisoners dead and 37 injured.
Secretary-General for Defence (Retd) GD H Kamal Gunaratne instructed Inspector-General of Police (IGP) C D Wickramaratne to carry out a special investigation into the tense situation reported on Sunday at Mahara Prison.
The Defense Ministry issued a statement stating that the directive was issued on Monday after it was noted that several inmates reportedly tried to escape from the prison premises demonstrating unruly behaviour, the Colombo Gazette reported.
When some inmates protested against prisoners infected by the COVID-19 virus being transferred from other facilities to Mahara prison, the latest clash at Mahara Prison started.
Ajith Rohana, the police spokesman, said prisoners created “unrest” at the Mahara prison, located about 15 kilometres north of Colombo, and prison officials took steps to control the situation.
The event comes as pandemic-related unrest in the overcrowded prisons of Sri Lanka has been growing. In recent weeks, inmates have staged protests in several prisons as the number of confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 spiked in overcrowded jails in the country.
“The incident was initiated by a series of prisoners in remand when they tried to force the authorities to use force to open a door and escape,” Rohana said.
At least 37 others including two prisoners, were wounded during the entire incident, he said, and all of them were transferred to the nearby Ragama hospital.
The residents near the prison said that because of the fire, smoke was coming out of the premises.
Prison officials said the rioters had set fire to the kitchen and the prison’s record room.
