News

Autopsies prove Minister, Prisons and Police wrong

Published

5 years ago

2020/12/26

Sahan Weerasooriya

Clashes among Mahara prisoners caused deaths?

*SJB points out AG faulted IGP over Mahara riot

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Investigations into the Mahara prison riot that claimed the lives of 11 inmates and wounded over 100 recently have taken a new turn with eight post mortems conducted so far revealing that all of them died of gunshot injuries.

In the run-up post-mortems conducted by a five-member team comprising four consultant judicial medical officers and a ballistic expert from the Government Analyst’s Department, both police headquarters and the Office of the Commissioner General of Prisons repeatedly alleged that the deaths were due to fierce clashes among remanded suspects and convicted prisoners.

Clashes erupted following protests launched by inmates demanding immediate measures to thwart the spread of the corona epidemic in the Mahara prison. So far, over 3,000 positive cases have been reported from prisons.

Police spokesperson DIG Ajith Rohana yesterday (25) confirmed that autopsies revealed all eight bodies bore marks of gunshot injuries. Asked how many statements had been recorded by the police so far in connection with Mahara riots, DIG Rohana, who is also the senior officer in charge of the Police Legal Division, said wounded inmates were among 726 questioned by Thursday (24).

At the time of the Mahara prison riot, approximately 2,800 persons, including 600 convicted were held in the overcrowded facility.

Prisons Management and Prisons Rehabilitation Minister Lohan Ratwatte, having visited devastated Mahara prison told Parliament on Dec 3 that none of those killed during the riot had suffered gunshot injuries.

The Attorney General’s Department made an application at the Wattala Magistrate’s Court for the appointment of a panel of experts to conduct the post-mortem on Mahara victims when the family members and rights activists called upon the government not to cremate them without a post-mortem.

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), too, intervened in the matter. The HRCSL instructed the Ragama Hospital to retain bodies till the autopsies were conducted. Three autopsies have yet to be conducted.

At the onset of the investigation, the focus was on claims by the Police headquarters and the Prisons Department that the rioters had been under the influence of drugs. Both Departments said the Prison Dispensary had stored over 21,000 tablets prescribed for mental disorders, and sleeping pills.

Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahman yesterday (25) told The Island that the government owed an explanation as to how all autopsies conducted so far had proved inmates died due to gunshot injuries.

At the time of the riots, Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle was in charge of prisons. Soon after the Mahara violence, Kandy District lawmaker Ratwatte succeeded Dr. Fernandopulle.

MP Rahman said they were awaiting the autopsies of the remaining three bodies and that in spite of clear evidence of fatal shootings, both Police Headquarters and Prisons Department continued to insist that the deaths had been caused by clashes among remand prisoners.

MP Rahman pointed out that Attorney General Dappula de Livera, PC, had blamed IGP C. D. Wickremaratne for congestion in prisons while President Gotabaya Rajapaksa faulted the Government Analyst, the AG and the police for the prison crisis.

MP Rahman said that State Minister Ratwatte should reveal the person who assured him that none of the Mahara deaths had been caused by gunshots.

Magisterial inquiry in respect of Mahara killings resumes at the Wattala Magistrate court on Wednesday (Dec 30).

Lawmaker Rahman said that the government couldn’t turn a blind eye to the report submitted by a five-member committee headed by retired High Court judge Kusala Sarojini Weerawardena that justified the inmates’ grievances. The SJB spokesperson asked whether the government had made a deliberate bid to deceive Parliament and the people. Some government members went to the extent of complaining of a conspiracy to discredit President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the government by engineering Mahara riot.

Rahman said that the ongoing investigation should clarify AG’s statement as regards the IGP’s culpability and added that he had never heard AG making such an allegation against a serving Police Chief.

The SJB MP noted that the accusation was made in the presence of Justice Minister Ali Sabry, PC and Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya.

Rahman asked the government who would accept responsibility for the Mahara killings.

The AG alleged that the Mahara incident could have been avoided if the IGP had carried out instructions the former had issued in April this year. MP Rahman said that the government couldn’t absolve itself of the responsibility for Mahara killings. He said all the victims had tested corona positive.

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News

Financial contributions received for ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund

Published

59 mins ago

2025/12/22

Priyan

The Government’s ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund, established to provide relief and support to communities affected by Cyclone Ditwah, continues to receive financial contributions on a daily basis.

Accordingly, the Containers Transport Owners Association made a financial contribution of Rs. 1.5 million, while the Association of SriLankan Airlines Licensed Aircraft Engineers contributed Rs. 1.35 million to the Fund.

The respective cheques were formally presented to the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, at the Presidential Secretariat on Friday (19).

The occasion was attended by W. M. S. K. Manjula, Chairman of the Containers Transport Owners Association, together with Dilip Nihal Anslem Perera and Jayantha Karunadhipathi.

Representing the Association of SriLankan Airlines Licensed Aircraft Engineers were Deshan Rajapaksa, Samudika Perera and Devshan Rodrigo handed over the cheque.

News

UNICEF representatives and PM discuss rebuilding schools affected by the Disaster

Published

1 hour ago

2025/12/22

Priyan

A meeting between Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and a delegation of UNICEF representatives was held on Saturday, (December 20) at the Prime Minister’s Office.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister explained the measures taken by the Government to ensure the protection of the affected student community and to restore the damaged school system, as well as the challenges encountered in this process.

The Prime Minister stated that reopening schools located in landslide-prone areas would be extremely dangerous. Accordingly, the Government is focusing on identifying such schools and relocating them to suitable locations based on scientific assessments.

The Prime Minister further noted that financial assistance has been provided to students affected by the disaster, enabling parents to send their children back to school without an additional financial burden. Emphasizing that school is the safest place for children after their homes, the Prime Minister expressed confidence that the school environment would help restore and improve students’ mental well-being

The Prime Minister also highlighted that attention has been given to several key areas, including the relocation of disaster-affected schools, restoration of school infrastructure, merging and operating certain schools jointly, facilitating teaching and learning through digital and technological strategies, and providing special transportation facilities. She emphasized that the Government is examining these issues and is committed to finding long-term solutions.

The UNICEF representatives commended the Government’s commitment and the initiatives undertaken to restore the education sector and assured their support to the Government. Both parties also discussed working together collaboratively on future initiatives.

The meeting was attended by the UNICEF representatives to Sri Lanka Emma Brigham, Lakshmi Sureshkumar, Nishantha Subash, and Yashinka Jayasinghe, along with Secretary to the Ministry of Education Nalaka Kaluwewa, Director of Education Dakshina Kasturiarachchi, Deputy Directors Kasun Gunarathne and Udara Dikkumbura.

(Prime Minister’s Media Division)

News

NMRA laboratory lacks SLAB accreditation

Published

3 hours ago

2025/12/22

Thilina Walpola

Dr. Sanjeewa

Drug controversy:

“Setting up state-of-the-art drug testing facility will cost Rs 5 billion”

Activists call for legal action against politicians, bureaucrats

Serious questions have been raised over Sri Lanka’s drug regulatory system following revelations that the National Medicines Regulatory Authority’s (NMRA) quality control laboratory is not accredited by the Sri Lanka Accreditation Board (SLAB), casting doubt on both the reliability of local test results and the adequacy of oversight of imported medicines.

Medical and civil rights groups warn that the issue points to a systemic regulatory failure rather than an isolated lapse, with potential political and financial consequences for the State.

Chairman of the Federation of Medical and Civil Rights Professional Associations, Specialist Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, said the controversy surrounding the Ondansetron injection, which was later found to be contaminated, had exposed deep weaknesses in drug regulation and quality assurance.

Dr. Sanjeewa said that the manufacturer had confirmed that the drug had been imported into Sri Lanka on four occasions this year, despite later being temporarily withdrawn from use. The drug was manufactured in India in November 2024 and in May and August 2025, and imported to Sri Lanka in February, July and September. On each occasion, 67,600 phials were procured.

Dr. Sanjeewa said the company had informed the NMRA that the drug was tested in Indian laboratories, prior to shipment, and passed all required quality checks. The manufacturer reportedly tested the injections against 10 parameters, including basic quality standards,

pH value, visual appearance, component composition, quantity per phial, sterility levels, presence of other substances, bacterial toxin levels and spectral variations.

According to documents submitted to the NMRA, no bacterial toxins were detected in the original samples, and the reported toxin levels were within European safety limits of less than 9.9 international units per milligram.

Dr. Sanjeewa said the credibility of local regulatory oversight had come under scrutiny, noting that the NMRA’s quality control laboratory was not SLAB-accredited. He said establishing a fully equipped, internationally accredited laboratory would cost nearly Rs. 5 billion.

He warned that the failure to invest in such a facility could have grave consequences, including continued loss of life due to substandard medicines and the inability of the State to recover large sums of public funds paid to pharmaceutical companies for defective drugs.

“If urgent steps are not taken, public money will continue to be lost and accountability will remain elusive,” Dr. Sanjeewa said.

He added that if it was ultimately confirmed that the drug did not contain bacterial toxins at the time it entered Sri Lanka, the fallout would be even more damaging, severely undermining the credibility of the country’s health system and exposing weaknesses in health administration.

Dr. Sanjeewa said public trust in the health sector had already been eroded and called for legal action against all politicians and public officials responsible for regulatory failures linked to the incident.

by Chaminda Silva ✍️