Welikada prison riot case: Former prisons chief sentenced to death

Former Prisons Commissioner Emil Ranjan Lamahewa was sentenced to death over the killing of eight inmates during the 2012 Welikada prison riot.

The Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar delivering the verdict today evening sentenced the former Prisons Chief to death while acquitting former Inspector of Police (IP) Neomal Rangajeewa from all charges in the case.

The verdict was initially scheduled to be announced on January 6 when the case was taken up before the bench consisting of High Court judges Gihan Kulathunga, Pradeep Hettiarachchi and Manjula Tilakaratne.

The Attorney General had filed indictments against former Inspector of Police (IP) Neomal Rangajeewa of Police Narcotics Bureau and former Prisons Commissioner Emil Ranjan Lamahewa and Indika Sampath, an officer attached to the Prisons intelligence unit over the killing of eight inmates at the 2012 Welikada prison riot that resulted in the killing of a total of 27 inmates.

Both Rangajeewa and Lamahewa were arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in 2018. The court proceeded the trial in the absentia of the third accused Indika Sampath who was overseas evading CID officials. 

Pix by Akila Jayawardana