Unarmed prisoners brutally shot at – Prisoners set fire to Magazine prison

Unconfirmed sources says 2 prisoners dead ; confirmed 30 hospitalized

(Lanka-e-News -24.Jan.2012, 11.30PM)Following a conflict between the prisoners in the remand prison of Colombo Magazine prison and the Prison officers this noon , unarmed prisoners were shot at by the police and prison officers. Consequently, 30 persons have sustained injuries , including 4 prison officers. They are all hospitalized.

According to prison inside sources, due to this dastardly shooting, two prisoners have died within the prison. There are more prisoners who have sustained injuries , but do not want to come out in fear that they would be killed, reports say. They are in mortal fear that they could be confined to the cell in the night and mauled , or even killed. It is not a custom any where in the world to shoot at unarmed prisoners with actual bullets within the prison ( except when escape attempts are made ). Most prisoners have received gunshot injuries to their two legs .

The prisoners who were obviously infuriated had set fire to the prison. Two Buildings have been fully consumed by the fire while another has also caught fire by now. The Fire brigades could not enter the premises as they were being pelted with stones and missiles, reports say.

The roads in front have been completely closed. The Army , police and prison officers were struggling to bring the situation under control. Tear gassing and shooting were going on within the prison.

The root cause of this attack has been the advent of Emil Ranjan , a crude and cruel prison administrative officer from the Kalutara prison transferred to the Magazine prison. He has a putrid record of getting caught red handed smuggling ganja into the prison when he was a jailor. He treats the prisoners in the most bestial manner. If he finds even a beedi in the possession of a prisoner , he tries to prolong the jail sentence of that prisoner by a year.

Today’s clash was triggered when the meals brought to the prisoners by visitors were restricted. When it was ordered that only a loaf of bread and two plantains can be brought by a visitor , a heated dispute has sparked between the prisoners and prison administrators.

Some prisoners have tried to climb to the roof of the prison and protest . The prison officers have started assaulting the prisoners when the dispute escalated. The prisoners have then retaliated by hurling stones and missiles , whereupon the prison officers have started firing at the prisoners. When they were shot at , the prisoners who were further provoked set fire to the prison and attacked those who came to douse the flames.
It is noteworthy that prison officers are absolutely prohibited from entering the prison with firearms. Shooting at the unarmed prisoners is therefore a most serious crime and an act of worst brutality.

The prisoners who are inside are panicking and requesting to save their lives.

Meanwhile , according to reports , Gen. Sarath Fonseka who is detained at the Welikade prison and not at the Magazine is safe.

Based on reports received in the evening , a Commission is to be appointed to inquire into the cause of the riot within the prison. More pictures below.