The Department of Prisons says the compensation paid to the families of prison officers killed in the Negombo Prison riot will be raised sharply, following criticism that the initial payments were inadequate.
Prisons Commissioner and Media Spokesperson A.C. Gajanayake told Ada Derana that the Rs. 500,000 already paid to each bereaved family was only an initial payment, and that the department is now considering total compensation of more than Rs. 2 million per family. All funeral expenses for the deceased were borne by the department, and compensation is also being weighed for officers injured in the violence.
Seven injured officers remain hospitalised, three of them still in the Intensive Care Unit of the Colombo National Hospital. The eight officers who died have been posthumously promoted, and further financial assistance is being arranged under the Ministry of Justice and National Integration.
The violence erupted on July 5 and 6, when a clash between two groups of inmates escalated into an attack on unarmed prison staff. Authorities initially said 28 people had died — eight prison officers and 20 inmates — while more than 100 were injured, making it one of the deadliest prison disturbances in recent Sri Lankan history. The confirmed toll has since risen to 31 (see the July 14 update below).
A CID investigation later recovered a large weapons cache allegedly used against officers, including more than 1,000 clubs and poles, sharp weapons and iron rods. Investigators said inmates took coconuts from the prison kitchen and hurled them at staff. The Justice Ministry has since declared the damaged Negombo facility a crime scene and unsuitable for inmates, designating the Mahamodara and Old Bogambara premises as temporary prisons under the Prisons Ordinance until reconstruction is completed.
The transfers have triggered overcrowding elsewhere, and two inmates moved to Boossa and Agunukolapelessa prisons died shortly afterward. Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia, Babu Ram Pant, called for an “immediate, impartial, independent and transparent” investigation into the deaths and torture allegations, noting the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture had again flagged overcrowding and prolonged pretrial detention in Sri Lanka’s prison system after a visit last month.
Update (July 12): The Department of Prisons said the court cases of inmates transferred out of Negombo will now be heard remotely, with proceedings conducted via video link from tomorrow (July 13). Commissioner Gajanayake said transporting the relocated inmates to courts had become a challenge, prompting the switch to video technology. The department has also appointed a three-member committee to assess the damage caused by the clash.
Update (July 13): The remote hearings began on Monday, with the cases of relocated inmates now conducted online, the Department of Prisons said. It added that only around 600 inmates remain at Negombo Prison — down from about 2,400 before the clash — and that the rest are expected to be moved to other facilities in the coming days. Family visits are currently not permitted for the inmates still held at the prison. Police said the Criminal Investigation Department has now recorded statements from more than 150 people, including inmates, as its investigation into the clash continues. The weapons, clubs and improvised wooden poles allegedly used by inmates during the violence have since been handed over to the Negombo Magistrate’s Court as evidence.
Update (July 13) — insurance payout: The state-run National Insurance Trust Fund (NITF) said it will pay a total of Rs 6 million in compensation to the families of the eight prison officers killed, all of whom were covered under the mandatory “Agrahara Gold” medical and life insurance scheme for public servants. “We have taken a very prompt decision to pay these death claims as quickly as possible,” NITF Assistant Manager (Marketing) Nuwan Dissanayake said, adding that preliminary data had already been exchanged with the Department of Prisons head office. All eight officers were married, and the payments — separate from the compensation being arranged by the Prisons Department — will be directed to their surviving spouses and children once formal claims are completed.
Update (July 14) — toll rises to 31: Two more prison officers died of their injuries while being treated at the National Hospital in Colombo, raising the confirmed death toll from the clash to 31, police said. The officers, aged 25 and 39, succumbed on July 13 and in the early hours of July 14. Police said the dead now comprise 10 prison officers and 21 inmates. Several other injured inmates and officers remain under treatment at the National Hospital and Negombo Hospital.
Update (July 14) — conspiracy probe, temporary prisons: Deputy Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr. Hansaka Wijemuni said investigators are examining whether there was a conspiracy behind the clash, adding that authorities could make a definite statement only as the probe advances. He said the two relocation sites — the Old Bogambara premises in Kandy and the former Mahamodara Hospital in Galle — would operate as prisons only temporarily, until the government addresses chronic overcrowding, which he linked to court delays, missing investigation reports and rising drug arrests. Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara gazetted the Mahamodara site on July 7 and the Bogambara site on July 8.
Former Commissioner General of Prisons Jagath Weerasinghe, speaking on Ada Derana’s “Big Focus,” said a mistaken “perception” of the inmates was the key factor in the escalation. He said officers had made a serious error by entering the facility unarmed after placing trust in inmates, the morning after two prisoners died in an internal dispute, and that in nearly 38 years of service he had never trusted inmates. He noted around 5,500 officers are responsible for roughly 43,000 inmates nationwide.
Update (July 14) — 271 bullet shells recovered, officer transferred: The Criminal Investigation Department informed the Negombo Magistrate’s Court that 271 bullet shells had been recovered from the prison premises during its probe into the unrest. Separately, the prison officer who opened fire during the clash has been temporarily transferred to the Pallekele Prison while the investigation continues, Prisons Department Spokesman A.C. Gajanayake said.
Update (July 15) — Bogambara transfer prepared, officers’ statements recorded: Prisons Spokesman A.C. Gajanayake said infrastructure work and stronger security arrangements are being put in place at the old Bogambara Prison ahead of an inmate transfer planned for later in the week. He said the three-member committee the department appointed to investigate the clash has begun formally recording statements from prison officers about the incident.
Update (August 1) — jailor’s evidence sealed on national security grounds: Negombo Magistrate Selani Perera has ordered the media not to report any of the evidence given by the Head Jailor of Negombo Prison at the magisterial inquiry into the clashes, ruling that it contained sensitive information that could seriously endanger national security if made public, the Daily Mirror reported.
Head Jailor Wickrema Jayantha Kumara testified for two hours when the inquiry was taken up before the Negombo Magistrate on July 30, giving evidence from 1.00 p.m. to 3.00 p.m. led by officers of the Criminal Investigation Department. He told court he was the Head Jailor on duty when the clashes erupted. The magistrate directed the Registrar of the Court to keep the record of his evidence securely in the court’s custody.
The CID informed court that a formal investigation is being conducted by a team of four Assistant Superintendents of Police, and that the Government Analyst’s reports on the case productions — including the firearms and sharp weapons used in the clash — have yet to be received. The magistrate ordered the CID to submit a progress report on the investigation.
