A prisoner convicted in the murder case of former Member of Parliament Amarakeerthi Athukorala has died after falling from a building inside Welikada Prison, Newswire reported on Monday.
Prison authorities said the inmate sustained critical injuries from the fall and was admitted to hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries. The incident occurred on May 11.
Amarakeerthi Athukorala, an SLPP parliamentarian from Polonnaruwa, was killed in Nittambuwa on May 9, 2022 — one of the most prominent fatalities during the Aragalaya protest movement that ultimately forced the resignation of then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The killing followed a confrontation in which the MP fired on a crowd of protesters before being chased and beaten to death; subsequent prosecutions resulted in murder convictions for several individuals.
The Department of Prisons has not yet released the identity of the deceased or further details of the circumstances of the fall. The cause of the fall remains under investigation.
Police are awaiting the Government Analyst’s report, with the death currently recorded as an “open verdict,” the Sunday Times reported on May 17. The post-mortem has been completed but body samples were sent for further chemical analysis to rule out possibilities such as poisoning, Commissioner of Prisons (Operations, Intelligence and Media) A.C. Gajanayake told the newspaper, describing it as standard procedure in suspicious or high-profile deaths. The final report is expected early in the week. Police Media Spokesman ASP F.U. Wootler said the death was “strongly suspected to be a suicide,” with statements from other inmates indicating the prisoner was seen jumping from the building and investigators finding no signs of a struggle or foul play. The convict was one of twelve people sentenced over the 2022 murder. Both officials said the act may have been linked to personal stress or depression associated with the death sentence.
The death is the latest in a string of custodial incidents that have drawn scrutiny in recent weeks. Three Welikada Prison guards were arrested on May 5 over the death of a 40-year-old inmate apprehended during an escape attempt the previous day. A separate investigation continues into the Magazine Prison custodial death of late April, and a shooting at Galle Prison during an escape attempt on May 3 drew further attention to security protocols at Sri Lankan prisons. No magisterial inquiry findings have yet been published in any of the recent cases.
Sources: Newswire — Convict in Amarakeerthi Athukorala case dies after fall from prison building.
