Riot In Sri Lankan Prison, Eight Prisoners Killed
Riot in Sri Lankan prison, eight prisoners killed; More than 37 injured. The riot erupted on Sunday in a prison on the outskirts of Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo.
According to the information, at least eight prisoners were killed and 37 others were injured.
It is being told that some prisoners tried to escape by opening the prison door, after which the officers used force. It was only after this that the riot started.
Police spokesperson Ajit Rohana said that prisoners at the Mahara Jail, located about 15 km north of Colombo, caused unrest, following which the jail authorities took steps to control the situation.
The incident came to light when the number of corona cases in Sri Lanka’s congested jails is increasing.
The epidemic is causing unrest among prisoners. Inmates have held protests in several jails in recent weeks.
“The incident started after a group of inmates tried to open the door and fled, after which the authorities had to use force,” Rohana said.
He said that at least 37 more people, including two jailers, were injured during the entire incident and all of them have been shifted to nearby Ragama Hospital.
People living near the jail say that smoke was seen coming out of the prison premises due to the fire.
Jail officials said the rioters set fire to the kitchen and a record room in the jail. Apart from this, the riot inmates also tried to take the jailer hostage.
Rohana said that the prisoners wanted him to be shifted to another jail from here, as the corona investigation of 175 inmates at Mahara Jail revealed infection.
Coronavirus has been confirmed in more than a thousand people associated with prisons. A prisoner was killed in similar unrest last week.
More than 26 thousand prisoners have been kept in Sri Lankan capacity of 10,000.
According to Johns Hopkins University, Sri Lanka, which is taking drastic measures to stop the spread of coronavirus, has reported 22,988 cases of the virus and 109 deaths.
