Interim report by committee probing Mahara prison riot to be tabled in parliament

COLOMBO (News 1st): The interim report of the committee appointed by the Minister of Justice Ali Sabry (PC), to look into the recent Mahara Prison riot, will be presented in parliament on Wednesday (Dec. 09). The report was handed over to Minister of Justice Ali Sabry (PC) on Monday (Dec. 07) by Chairperson of the Committee - Former High Court Judge Kusala Sarojini Weerawardena. A complete report into the findings will be submitted within a one month period, the Ministry of Justice said. The report will be tabled in parliament today (Dec. 09) during the committee stage debate of the portfolios including the respective ministry, Lohan Ratwatte, the State Minister of Prison Management and Prisoners Rehabilitation said. "We are yet to receive the postmortem examination reports and we are facing difficulties in confirming the identity of the victims as a majority of documents were destroyed in the fire that erupted during the riot," The State Minister noted. According to State Minister Lohan Ratwatte, the fingerprints of the victims were handed over to Police to ascertain the identity of the victims, and investigations are underway.