Colombo, July 8:
The death toll in the Negombo prison riots rose to 27 on Tuesday as authorities said the situation had been brought under control.
A number of foreign inmates were among around 700 prisoners evacuated safely during the violence, while the government announced a three-member probe headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to investigate the incident and recommend measures to prevent a recurrence.
Prisons spokesman A C Gajanayake said the clashes, which began between two groups of inmates on Sunday, escalated into an attempted jailbreak on Monday. The inmates attacked jail officials while breakfast was being served.
Seven prison officials and 19 inmates were killed in a gunfire that followed, while several were injured. The death toll rose by one on Tuesday morning to 27, Gajanayake said.
More than 100 inmates and prison officials were admitted to Negombo Hospital, with some later transferred to the National Hospital in Colombo. At least 10 of them underwent emergency surgeries, health officials said.
Harshana Nanayakkara, minister in charge of prisons, told Parliament that a full investigation would identify any lapses that may have led to the violence.
“We will carry out a full probe into the incident to identify any lapses that may have led to the situation,” said Nanayakkara, who is a former judge.
Opposition legislator Ajith P Perera criticised the minister’s handling of the crisis. “He didn’t do anything to control the situation when it was getting bad yesterday. He was a failure,” Perera told reporters.
The opposition has written to the parliament speaker seeking an urgent debate on the incident.
Authorities on Tuesday transferred a known criminal, Katuwellegoda Suresh, to the high-security Boossa prison. Officials believe his links to the prison’s internal narcotics distribution chain were the primary cause of the incident.
Negombo Magistrate Shirani Perera visited the prison on Tuesday to conduct the magisterial inquiry, while the Human Rights Commission also inspected the facility.
Around 1,800 inmates were housed in the prison when the clashes erupted.