More than 100 soldiers and Special Task Force commandos were deployed to contain a riot at overcrowded Mahara Prison on the outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Police said one inmate was killed and six others were injured. The unrest occurred on Saturday, and police said on Sunday that additional security personnel had brought the situation under control.
Deputy Inspector General Sanjeewa Medawatte said inmates vandalized several buildings inside the prison before security forces intervened. He said armed forces and STF commandos helped restore order and return inmates to their cells. Police said the prison kitchen, hospital, newly built rehabilitation building and vocational training centre were completely destroyed during the riot.
Mahara Prison has capacity for about 1,000 people but currently holds about 4,100 inmates, nearly four times its intended capacity. Overcrowding is described as a longstanding problem across most Sri Lankan prisons. A riot at Mahara in November 2020 killed 11 inmates and injured about 120 others. Last month, the government announced plans to convert abandoned government buildings into prisons. Prison authorities say more than three-quarters of Sri Lanka’s inmates are remand prisoners, most held in drug-related cases.
আমার দেশ অনলাইন প্রকাশ : ০২ আগস্ট ২০২৬, ১৩: ৩১আপডেট : ০২ আগস্ট ২০২৬, ১৪: ১৩ শ্রীলঙ্কার রাজধানী কলম্বোর উপকণ্ঠে অবস্থিত অতিরিক্ত বন্দিতে ঠাসা মাহারা কারাগারে দাঙ্গা নিয়ন্ত্রণে শতাধিক সেনাসদস্য ও বিশেষ টাস্কফোর্স (এসটিএফ) কমান্ডো মোতায়েন করা হয়েছে।
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