Four suspects named by the Criminal Investigation Department in connection with the incident where 32 people died during the Negombo prison clash were ordered to be remanded until the 7th of next month by Negombo Magistrate Shilani Perera today (27).

Those remanded are inmates Supun Madushanka alias "Heenatiyana Supun", Ashan Fernando alias "Kalu Malli", Sameera Sampath alias “Baba”, and Shane Dilhan Silva.

The clash that broke out between two groups of inmates at the Negombo prison on the 5th and 6th resulted in the deaths of 10 prison officers and 22 inmates, while over 100 people sustained injuries.

The case regarding this incident was called before the court today (27), and the Criminal Investigation Department appeared on behalf of the prosecution.

Submitting a further report to the court during the proceedings, the Criminal Investigation Department stated that the suspect inmates can be identified by fellow inmates in the prison, requesting an order to present the suspects for an identification parade, and noting that the suspects are being presented to court today since they could potentially secure bail. The Special Task Force brought 301 firearms on the day of the incident.

Prison officers possessed 70 firearms, and Government Analyst reports regarding their scientific evidence have been called for. Statements have been recorded from 1,395 individuals, including 260 prison officers, 849 inmates, 205 Special Task Force officers, 11 police officers, and 70 civilians.

President's Counsel Maithree Gunaratne requested permission from the court to join the case on behalf of the Jana Aragalaye Puravesiyo organisation.

The President's Counsel stated before the court that 32 people died inside the prison during what constitutes a very grave crime, noting that an initial incident among inmates on July 5 resulted in 3 deaths before that situation was controlled and weapons were removed from the prison, though inmates were left unconfined in cells with only a few armed officers on security duty.

No issues occurred until 6 in the morning the following day, but Headquarters deployed 89 plainclothes prison police officers with 10 guns to a trouble-free location where they allegedly subjected inmates to brutal torture, causing inmates to retaliate out of desperation, resulting in the deaths of 10 officers and 19 inmates alongside numerous injuries, with the counsel claiming that outside shooting originated from officers inside and the majority of inmates died from bullets fired from the 300 weapons sent for analysis.

The counsel criticized the ongoing process of taking over a thousand statements without tangible justice for inmates while the government pays massive compensation to dead officers, appearing for the Jana Aragalaye Puravesiyo organisation and for a deceased inmate named Mohamed Nizam who leaves behind 7 children including a 2-month-old infant, arguing that the 89 officers should be arrested as suspects alongside anyone who ordered the shooting in what amounted to a mass slaughter, while noting that the Criminal Investigation Department fails to voice support for the inmates who are already treated as wrongdoers and remain too terrified to testify without a secure environment.

The Criminal Investigation Department stated that all items including seized firearms and ammunition from July 14 were sent to the Government Analyst, and statements were recorded from over a thousand individuals.

The court noted that 28 individuals have provided evidence before the court so far, asserting that the court delivers justice equally to everyone, ordering the Negombo Prison Superintendent to report on the medical examination of inmates tomorrow (28), and directing the four suspects to be presented to the judges' chambers for an identification parade.

Following the identification parade, the court ordered the four suspects to be remanded until the 7th of next month.