The Appeals Court Thursday ordered the Attorney General to report the progress of the investigation into the Welikada Prison riot in 2012 before the 05th of next month.
The deadly riot at the country’s largest and most crowded prison on November 9th, 2012 was of an enormous magnitude resulting in deaths of 27 inmates, and injuries to a prison officer and 20 prisoners.
The state attorney representing the Attorney General told the court that most of the investigations into the incident has been completed.
He made this statement when a petition filed by Sudesh Nandimal Silva, an inmate at the Welikada Prison during the riot and an eye witness to the incident, requesting a formal investigation into the deaths of 27 inmates, was taken up for hearing Thursday.
The riot occurred when prisoners took control of the prison after objecting to a search by the Special Task Force who entered the prison to nab hidden arms, drugs and mobile phones in the prison premises.
The petitioner has accused that despite lodging a complaint the Police had not carried out a proper inquiry into the incident.
The Criminal Investigations Department investigating the incident had reported to the judiciary that on the day of the incident two officials of the Police Anti-Narcotics Bureau had entered the prison and taken out some selected inmates from the prison.
The petitioner had stated that the killing of these inmates happened after the Army was summoned to control a clash that occurred between them and the inmates during a search operation carried out by the Police Special Task Force.
The Commissioner General of Prisons, the Director General of the Crimes Investigation Department, the Inspector General of Police, the Minister of Prison Reforms and the Attorney General have been cited as respondents.
