Welikada Prison shooting in 2012: Appeals Court directs AG to file report

The Court of Appeal yesterday directed the Attorney General to file a report in court regarding the progress of the CID investigation into the Welikada prison shooting in 2012.

A writ petition was sought an order directing the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the CID Director to commence an investigation into the Welikada prison shooting in 2012 that caused the death of 27 prisoners was yesterday re-fixed for support on December 6.

When the petition came up before Court of Appeal (President) Justice L.T.B. Dehideniya and Justice Shiran Gunaratne, the Attorney General informed court that the CID had commenced a comprehensive investigation regarding the incident that achieved remarkable progress.

Sudesh Nandimal Silva who was in remand custody at the time the alleged incident took place filed the writ petition citing the Prisons Commissioner General, CID Director, Inspector General of Police, Prison Reforms Minister, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs and the Attorney General as respondents.

The petitioner (Silva) brought Court’s attention to what he saw and was within his personal knowledge of the tragic incidents to obtaine relief.

On November 9, 2012 at about 1.00 pm, Silva and other prisoners at the Welikada prison received information that Army and STF personnel were about to enter the prison to conduct a search operation. He got to know that here was an argument between prison officials and a contingent of TID and STF personnel waiting at the prison gate on the procedure related to the search operation.

Silva stated that the prison was in Army control until 10 am on November 10, 2012. By that time 27 prison inmates had been killed by the STF, Army, TID and Prison Intelligence. The petitioner has made a complaint to the CID on February 2, 2015.

Silva said that although four years had lapsed since the brutal killings of these prisoners, no action has yet been taken by the police or the Attorney General to conduct the investigation and prosecute the offenders.

This petition was filed through Senior Counsel K.S. Ratnavale and counsel Senaka Perera.

Senior State Counsel Madawa Tennakoon appeared for the Attorney General.

 

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