Negombo, Sri Lanka. A prison riot in the coastal town of Negombo killed 26 people, including seven prison officials and 19 inmates, in the deadliest prison violence in Sri Lanka in years, authorities said. Relatives gathered in Colombo on Wednesday as the bodies of the dead officials were brought to Welikada Prison.
Victims and aftermath
Dularika Perera, 38, said she learned her cousin was among those killed only after his photo was sent to her on WhatsApp.
Clad in white and holding her four-year-old son, Perera was among the grieving relatives and friends waiting on Wednesday morning for the bodies of the prison officials to be brought to Welikada Prison in Colombo.
Sergeant S.D.S Abeywardana, 41, had spent 12 years in Sri Lanka’s navy before joining a special unit under the prison department tasked with tackling corruption, drug trafficking and misconduct.
Perera said she initially believed he had been hospitalized after hearing about the clashes.
“When I heard about the clash, I thought he’s only hospitalised, he will come home,” Perera said. “I never dreamt this would happen.”
“He has a five-year-old daughter and an eight-month-old son. He was more like a brother to me and we were very close. He looked after everyone in the family. He didn’t deserve to die like this.”
Clashes at Negombo prison
Authorities said the seven prison officials and 19 prisoners died in two days of fighting between two groups of inmates at the prison in Negombo, about 35 km north of Colombo.
Abeywardana was among 120 members of the special unit sent to Negombo prison when clashes broke out on Sunday and escalated on Monday. Six of his colleagues also died after being attacked by inmates using mostly bricks and clubs when they attempted to stop prisoners from escaping.
The bodies of the 19 inmates who died were also released to their families.
Official response
After postmortems in Negombo, the seven bodies, covered in the Sri Lankan flag, were escorted by police to Welikada Prison in Colombo to be handed over to their families. White flags fluttered outside the prison gate and dozens of officials lined up to pay their last respects.
Minister of Justice and National Integration Harshana Nanayakkara told parliament on Tuesday that initial investigations showed the fighting began after some prisoners leaked information to prison officials about efforts to smuggle drugs into the prison.
