Inmate injured in brawl at Batticaloa Prison dies

An inmate of the Batticaloa Prison has reportedly died after being attacked by a group of inmates.

The inmate, identified as S. Thurairasa, a 46-year-old resident of Kokkadicholai, was being held in remand custody until 28 December in connection with a case concerning the possession of illicit liquor, according to police.

Police further reported that the inmate had gotten involved in a brawl with 8 other inmates, following which he was admitted to the Batticaloa Hospital, under police supervision.

However, the inmate later died while receiving treatment, police said, adding that the cause of death has been identified as blunt force trauma, as per the postmortem report.

Thus, although police are yet to identify the inmate’s assailants, measures are underway to obtain a court order allowing for statements to be recorded from those inmates who were in the same cell as the deceased, police assured.