Negombo Chief Magistrate Shilani Perera has ordered notices to be issued to 20 individuals to be presented for an identification parade regarding the deaths of 32 people, including prison officials and inmates, due to the conflict situation that arose at the Negombo Prison on July 5 and 6.
This order was issued when the case filed regarding the relevant incident was recalled before the Negombo Magistrate’s Court today (28).
Accordingly, notices have been issued for 20 prison officials, including the Chief Jailer of the Negombo Prison, to appear before the Negombo Magistrate’s Court on the upcoming September 8. They are scheduled to be presented for the identification parade on that day.
In this case, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had named 70 suspects during the previous court date. Among those suspects, the first six suspects were scheduled to be presented for the identification parade today.
However, two of the suspects could not be presented to court today due to a health reason and being involved in another legal case. Written facts regarding those two suspects were presented to the court by the prison authorities.
Accordingly, only four of the six suspects were presented to court today, and four witnesses were also presented to court by the Criminal Investigation Department to identify those suspects.
Court sources also mention that the four witnesses identified the suspects presented to them during the identification parade held at the court.
The Criminal Investigation Department has also reported facts to the court regarding the progress of the investigations being conducted into this incident. Accordingly, the CID informed the court that statements have been recorded from over 2,100 individuals so far, and statements are scheduled to be obtained from more people for the investigation activities.
Due to the conflict situation that arose between two groups of inmates at the Negombo Prison on July 5 and 6 turning into a serious violent event, 32 people, including 10 prison officials and 22 inmates, lost their lives. More than 100 other people were injured in the incident, and the Criminal Investigation Department has launched a comprehensive investigation regarding the incident.
The legal process regarding the incident is progressing, driven by the fact that statements have been obtained from a large number of people and 70 suspects have been named. On the next court date, September 8, more suspects are scheduled to be presented to the identification parade, and along with that process, the future progress of the investigations conducted regarding the incident is also scheduled to be reported to the court.
- By Rekha Nilukshi Herath