Colombo, November 30 Sri Lanka police spokesman Ajit Rohana said on November 30 that riots broke out in Mahara prison outside the capital Colombo on the 29th, killing at least 8 prisoners and injuring 45.
Rohana said that there are 2,500 inmates in Maharaja prison, and 180 prisoners have recently been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus and quarantined. Some inmates believe that the novel coronavirus is spreading in prison and hope to be released.
On the afternoon of the 29th, some prisoners attempted to escape from prison. Prison guards fired and warned that the two sides clashed. That night, prisoners set fire to the prison, which was put out on the morning of the 30th. At present, a police task force has been deployed in Mahara prison to control the situation.
Rohana told News Agency that the dead were all prisoners, including prison guards, and some of the injured were in critical condition.
According to local media reports, Sri Lanka has a total of five prisons, and more than 1,000 prisoners and prison guards have recently been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.
Given the rapid spread of the virus in prison, President Gottabaya Rajapaksa said that there were plans to pardon more than 600 prisoners, but that the pardon did not apply to prisoners who had committed serious crimes.
