Mahara Prison riot exposes overcrowding crisis, causes heavy destruction

By Shanika Sriyananda

While security in islandwide prisons tightened yesterday with the unrest at Mahara Prison, which left one inmate dead and several injured, rights groups have once again called on the Government to solve the severe overcrowding and poor living conditions in prisons in the country immediately.

The riot, which erupted on Saturday afternoon and continued until the early hours of Sunday, had been brought under control through a joint security operation involving the Department of Prisons, Police, the Special Task Force (STF), and the tri-forces. The Sri Lanka Air Force also deployed a Bell 412 helicopter and surveillance drones to monitor the situation from the air.

Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) Chairman Senaka Perera alleged that the unrest was the result of years of severe overcrowding and deteriorating prison conditions.

According to Perera, Mahara Prison, which has the capacity only to accommodate 991 inmates, is sheltering 4,447 prisoners.

“The prison authorities are attempting to conceal the actual conditions inside the Prison,” Perera alleged, adding that inadequate accommodation, limited sanitation facilities, and poor living conditions had created mounting tensions among inmates.

Perera further alleged that although the unrest began around 1 p.m. on Saturday, prison officials failed to take immediate action.

“Instead of immediately containing the situation, prison officers withdrew from the premises, allowing the confrontation among inmates to escalate,” he claimed.

The riots at the Mahara Prison erupted less than a month after the country’s deadliest prison riot in years at Negombo Prison.

According to the CPRP, Mahara Prison sheltered over fivefold of its intended capacity and the country’s 22 prisons, which have the capacity to shelter only about 11,000 inmates, are now accommodating more than 41,000 convicted prisoners. Over thousands of remand prisoners are also sheltered in these 22 prisons, which have deteriorating prison conditions.

Meanwhile, the Department of Prisons yesterday transferred 104 inmates from Mahara Prison to seven other correctional facilities following the unrest.

Department of Prisons Prison Commissioner – Operations and Media Spokesman A.C. Gajanayake said the inmates had been transferred to Dumbara, Welikada, Boossa, Kalutara, Badulla, Batticaloa, and Polonnaruwa prisons.

According to Gajanayake, a list of the transferred inmates had been displayed near the roadblock at the entrance to Mahara Prison to enable relatives to obtain information on their family members.

Gajanayake also said visits by relatives to inmates at Mahara Prison would remain suspended on today (3) and tomorrow while repair work was carried out, adding that normal visiting arrangements would resume once the essential restoration work had been completed.

He said investigations to identify the trigger for the violence are continuing and the extensive damage caused during the riot is also being assessed.

According to Department of Prisons sources, the unrest began when a group of inmates, who had climbed the roofs, started pelting stones from inside the Prison during family visiting hours and had set fire to a building within the Prison premises while several prisoners attempted to escape by breaching a temporary wall under construction.

Relatives gathered outside the Prison demanding information about inmates, prompting authorities to impose an overnight police curfew in three Grama Niladhari Divisions surrounding the Prison before lifting it on Sunday afternoon after order had been restored.

Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Sajeewa Medawatta said security had now been strengthened at all major prisons, including Welikada, Magazine, Kalutara, Negombo, and Mahara.

He added that authorities were working to restore normal operations while ensuring the welfare of inmates. Meanwhile, the Department of Prisons said prison property had suffered extensive destruction, with officials are continuing a comprehensive assessment of the damage. Sources said they had damaged the offices which had official documents, the prison hospital, kitchen, and rehabilitation centre.

A total of 20 inmates have been transferred to Boossa Prison while investigations continue.

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna MP Namal Rajapaksa said the incident reflected institutional failures rather than an isolated breakdown in security.

“This is the second major prison disturbance in a matter of weeks. It is no longer an isolated incident. It is the result of poor management, negligence, and a prison system that is under immense strain,” he said in a post on ‘X.’

Questioning why the Department of Prisons still lacked a permanently appointed Commissioner General, Rajapaksa asked: “Even today, the Department of Prisons continues without a permanently appointed Commissioner General, despite the crisis unfolding before us. Why has this critical position still not been properly filled?”

While acknowledging that increased security deployments could restore order temporarily, he claimed that lasting solutions required addressing overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure, poor healthcare, delays in rehabilitation programs, and broader institutional weaknesses.

“The Government must stop firefighting and start fixing a prison system that is showing clear signs of institutional failure,” Rajapaksa said.