Despite repeated denials by the state authorities regarding the deaths of 11 prison inmates, autopsy reports have revealed that all eleven of them who were killed in the Mahara Prison riot in November 2020 had died from gunshot injuries.
This is contradictory to what State Minister Lohan Ratwatte, police and prison officers have been telling since December last year, official sources said.
These interested parties wanted to mislead the public although they were in the know of the truth, civil society activists claimed.
These persons may have expected to get a different decision from the officers who would be involved in the post-mortems, they said.
The reports were submitted before the Wattala Magistrate’s Court today (08). Meanwhile, the Court permitted the burial of the remains of three inmates who were killed in the Mahara Prison riot.
The bodies of the inmates were identified to not have contracted the coronavirus. The Wattala Magistrate’s Court has granted permission to bury the bodies on the request of relatives of the deceased.
The Court further ordered the bodies to be buried at the expense of the Government. Among the eleven inmates killed in the prison riot, eight were found to have contracted COVID-19.
The bodies were cremated on Court orders and the advice of Health Services Director General Dr. Asela Gunawardena.
A riot broke out on 29 November, 2020 at the Mahara prison over fears of the spread of COVID-19. Prison officials were prompted to use force to contain the situation, following which eleven inmates died and over 50 inmates and two prison guards sustained injuries.
Related News:
Final report on Mahara prison riots handed over to Justice Minister
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