A petition has been filed with the Court of Appeal seeking a writ of nullification of a letter sent by the Attorney General to the Criminal Investigation Department to terminate the proceedings related to the order issued by the Welisara Magistrate’s Court to arrest and produce the suspects related to the incident in which 11 prisoners died in clashes at the Mahara Prison in 2020.
The petition was filed by the wife of a prisoner named Sampath Pushpa Kumara who died in the incident.
The Attorney General, the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department and the Welisara Magistrate have been named as respondents in the petition.
On November 29, 2020, 11 prisoners detained there died due to shootings during clashes at the Mahara Prison.
The petitioner states that the Welisara Magistrate’s Court issued an order to the Criminal Investigation Department during the inquest into the matter, stating that the deaths were ‘criminal’ and that the suspects involved should be arrested and produced.
However, the petitioner states that on the 30th of August, the Attorney General sent a letter to the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department, instructing him to conclude the proceedings and close the files.