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Friday, 18 January 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Expressing regret over the violent incident that occurred in the Angunukulapallesse Prison, Justice Minister Thalatha Atukorala said that two Committees have been appointed to probe into the incidents and the others related. A special investigation will be conducted on how the CCTV footage got released to the media from the Prison authorities.
“I express regret over the incident which happened in Angunukulapallesse Prison, I regret any inconvenience or heartache the incident may have caused any relative of the prisoners who were involved,” Atukorala said addressing a press conference held at the Ministry yesterday.
The authorities have sealed off the CCTV control room to prevent the records being accessed and possible compromising of evidence, the Minister said, adding that the release of footage to the media instead of complaints being made to the Ministry was a serious concern and will be investigated.
Two Committees have already been appointed to investigate into the incident. A three-member Committee headed by the Prison Commissioner will submit the report next week. A second Committee, including officials from the Presidential Secretariat, a Ministry official and another from the Administrative Service, is set to produce a report on the incident on 25 January. Noting that the alleged attack on prisoners at Angunukulapallesse Prison on 22 November 2018 is one in a series of incidents, the Minister said there were already investigations underway about several other related incidents including a murder of a detainee.
According to the Minister, there has been a severe pushback from certain prisoners and groups within the Prison Department against the recent changes in Prison administration.
“We have been most successful in the Angunukulapallesse Prison in cleaning up the drug related issues in prisons. However, this was not taken positively by some. We had removed seven officials we found to be involved and these officials have worked through the prisoners to create agitation in the prison. Four of the seven who were transferred managed to change their transfers during the short period we lost control of the Government,” Atukorala explained.
The Minister, noting that the conduct of some members of the Prison Department was not satisfactory, said that the 22 November incident was one in a series of many incidents which was a result of the cleaning up done by her Ministry before 26 October changes occurred.
She said that the incident was connected to another incident where prisoners allegedly attacked another with a three-foot long iron rod removed from the prison ward itself.
“The incident escalated when jailors went into break the clash, the investigation is still on,” Atukorala said.
Refuting claims that the Special Task Force (STF) has been allowed in prisons, the Minister said that the forces with Police are involved in maintaining security only outside of the Prisons, similar to the Welikada Prison.
