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Prison officers responding to the deadly unrest at Negombo Prison were attacked by inmates who allegedly dropped large stones onto their heads, according to Sri Lankan prison authorities, as investigations continue into one of the country's deadliest prison incidents in recent years/
The death toll from the unrest has risen to 29, including eight prison officers and 21 inmates, as Sri Lankan prison authorities claimed inmates attacked officers during clashes linked to drug trafficking and organised crime.
Authorities said the situation at the prison has now been brought under control. Personnel from the Police Special Task Force and the Sri Lanka Army remain deployed outside the prison to provide additional security, while prison officers continue to oversee security inside the facility.
Prisons Department spokesperson A. C. Gajanayake said three teams from the Criminal Investigation Department have been assigned to investigate the incident.
Relatives of inmates gathered outside Negombo Prison again on Wednesday, seeking information about family members being held inside the facility.
According to investigators, the initial violence began at around 11am on Sunday. Authorities believe the clash started when a group allegedly involved in drug trafficking inside the prison targeted inmates suspected of providing information about their activities to prison officials.
Prison officers allege that the attack was orchestrated by an inmate identified as Katuwellegama Suresh. Ada Derana reported that Suresh, who is alleged to have orchestrated the unrest, has since been transferred to Boossa Prison. The report said he is alleged to be a close associate of underworld figure Kehelbaddara Padme and has been accused of multiple offences, including assault with sharp weapons, robbery, and possession and trafficking of narcotics.
Speaking at a Cabinet media briefing, Acting Commissioner General of Prisons Prasada Hemantha Kumara said investigators had since uncovered further developments. He alleged that inmates broke into the prison hospital during the night and took medication prescribed for psychiatric patients.
Kumara said that when prison officers entered the prison the following morning to carry out routine duties linked to court appearances and family visits, they found that some inmates appeared to be in an unstable condition. He claimed investigators had uncovered information indicating that some inmates had consumed narcotic substances and were "in a highly unstable condition".
Newsfirst also reported that investigations are continuing into the death of an Indian national who was among those killed during the unrest. According to officials, the Indian national had been held on remand over allegations of importing the narcotic substance known as "Kush" into Sri Lanka.
The Director of Negombo Hospital said post-mortem examinations had been completed on 23 of the deceased and their bodies had been released to relatives. Two inmates transferred from Negombo Prison to other facilities had also died. One inmate who was transferred to Boossa Prison reportedly died after being admitted to Karapitiya National Hospital due to an illness, while the other was identified as an inmate moved to Agunukolapelessa Prison.
36 people injured during the Negombo Prison violence continued to receive treatment at the Negombo District General Hospital, with three in intensive care. Twenty inmates who had been receiving treatment at Negombo Hospital were transferred to the Welikada Prison Hospital for further medical care and monitoring.
The Negombo violence has drawn renewed attention to the severe overcrowding and deteriorating conditions inside Sri Lanka’s prison system.
Reuters reported earlier this week that Negombo Prison was holding around 2,400 inmates despite having a designed capacity of only 650.
Authorities have transferred hundreds of inmates from Negombo to other prisons across the island, including facilities in the North-East.
Rights groups have warned that the mass transfers risk simply redistributing the crisis unless the government addresses overcrowding, prolonged remand detention, prison corruption, organised criminal influence and the lack of independent oversight.
The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has also expressed concern over allegations that inmates transferred from Negombo Prison to several other facilities were subjected to torture and ill-treatment.
Amnesty International has called for an urgent and independent investigation into the deaths of prisoners transferred from Negombo, as well as into the wider violence and the fatal use of force.
The latest official claims about drug trafficking, narcotic use and attacks on prison officers therefore form only one part of a wider crisis.
For families still waiting outside prison gates for information, the immediate question remains who was killed, who was injured, where prisoners have been transferred, and whether those in custody are being protected.
For Sri Lanka’s prison system, the deeper question is whether the Negombo bloodshed will lead to meaningful reform, or whether another deadly incident will be absorbed into the same cycle of overcrowding, violence and impunity.
Source: Newsfirst, Newsfirst, Newsfirst and Ada Derana.