News
Special guards unit to protect ‘travelling’ inmates
The Prisons Dept (PD) intends to form a special Unit dedicated to guarding prison inmates while being transported to courts and back.
According to a proposal made to the Minister of Prison Reforms, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs, D.M. Swaminathan, this Unit will comprise of about 100 officers, who will receive specialised training from agencies including the Police Special Task Force (STF), PD sources told the Sunday Times.
The PD intends to recruit the new guards from a batch of 350 who are due to be appointed to the Dept. These appointments, however, were suspended in November last year by Minister Swaminathan, following allegations of bribery and corruption. The Minister had noted that a second interview with regard to the recruitment of jail guards, as per due procedure, would be held to fill the vacancies. Accordingly, the PD would have to wait for these interviews to be conducted and appointments finalised before moving forward with the Unit’s formation.
The proposal comes after heavily armed gunmen ambushed a prison bus at Ethanamadala in Kalutara, on February 27. The bus was on its way to the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court at the time. Five prisoners, including underworld leader Aruna Damith Udayanga Pathirana alias ‘Samayan’ and two Prison officers died in the attack. Several Prison officers were also wounded. The attack has compelled authorities to rethink their approach to transporting prisoners.
A lengthy discussion was held earlier this week between Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara and Commissioner General of Prisons H.M.N.C. Dhanasinghe, regarding new measures aimed at ensuring protection of prisoners. Senior officers from both Depts also took part. Police Spokesman- Deputy Inspector General (DIG) (Crimes) Priyantha Jayakody said the discussions were fruitful and that police are in the process of drawing up a strategic plan to provide security for Prison buses. “A group of Prison officers would also receive advanced training with the assistance of the STF to strengthen security. Extra police protection would be provided to prisoners, based on threat assessments,” he added. Police and Prisons Depts would be coordinating on these issues.
Nearly two weeks into the deadly Kalutara ambush, suspects in the attack remain at large. DIG Jayakody, however, insisted investigators were on the right track. “Five police teams, two from Kalutara and three from Colombo, under the direction of Senior DIG Nandana Munasinghe, are on the case and we are confident of apprehending the suspects,” he stated.
On Friday, police also announced that Inspector J.P. Ananda Silva, Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of Kalutara North Police, has been transferred to Colombo on disciplinary grounds. The responsibility for providing police protection for prison buses from the Kalutara Prison falls to the Kalutara North police station. While the prison made a request on February 25 for police protection for the bus transporting ‘Samayan’ to court on February 27, the former OIC had informed them that such protection could not be provided due to a shortage of personnel. He, however, had not followed protocol and informed senior officers of the matter.