The Criminal Investigation Department has named four inmates as suspects over the deadly clash at Negombo Prison, telling the Negombo Magistrate’s Court on Monday that they had been identified through the ongoing inquiry.
The case was taken up before Magistrate Shilani Perera. Investigators named the four as Supun Madhusanka, known as “Heenatiyana Supun”; Shane Dilan Silva; Ashan Fernando, known as “Kalu Malli”; and Sameera Sampath, known as “Baba”.
The magistrate ordered the four produced before court and subsequently remanded them until August 7. They were later transferred to the Boossa high security prison.
CID officers told the court that 301 firearms belonging to Special Task Force personnel and 70 firearms belonging to prison officers were present at Negombo Prison on the day of the clash. Reports from the Government Analyst on scientific evidence linked to those weapons are still awaited, investigators said.
The department also disclosed the scale of the inquiry, telling court that statements have now been recorded from 1,395 people, among them prison officials, inmates, Special Task Force personnel, police officers and civilians.
The unrest at the facility was among the deadliest incidents in Sri Lanka’s recent prison history. Autopsy findings presented to the same court in July showed that of the 28 people who died, 17 were killed by gunshot injuries and 11 died from assaults involving blunt weapons — a breakdown that sharpened scrutiny of the force used to bring the disturbance under control.
The aftermath has driven a series of government responses, including compensation for victims’ families, posthumous promotions for prison officers who died, and an opposition no-confidence motion against the Justice Minister over the handling of the prison system.
The naming of suspects marks the first time individual inmates have been formally identified in court proceedings over the clash. The investigation continues, with the Government Analyst’s firearms reports expected to be central to establishing accountability.
