Two of Sri Lanka’s best-known alleged organised crime figures fought while in custody at Welisara Prison on Tuesday, leaving one of them hospitalised, Prisons Department sources told Hiru News.
The clash was between Nandun Chinthaka Wickramaratne, known as ‘Harak Kata’, and Mandinu Padmasiri, known as ‘Kehelbaddara Padme’.
Padmasiri suffered minor injuries in the attack and was first admitted to the Welisara prison hospital for treatment, Hiru reported. He was subsequently moved from Welisara to the Welikada prison hospital, the outlet said in a later filing.
Prison authorities are investigating.
What is not confirmed
Both reports are attributed to unnamed Prisons Department sources rather than an official statement, and neither gives the time or location of the incident inside the facility, what caused it, whether weapons were used, or whether either man faces disciplinary action or fresh charges. The Prisons Department has not publicly commented.
Wickramaratne is among the highest-profile inmates in the Sri Lankan system. He was transferred to a high-security facility in August after a court dismissed charges against him under the Prevention of Terrorism Act — a ruling the Attorney General has since appealed.
Housing rival figures in the same facility has been a recurring concern for the Prisons Department, which is still dealing with the aftermath of the Negombo prison riot that left 28 dead.
