A former Superintendent of Prisons continued to take the stand as a witness in the Welikada Prison inmates massacre trial-at-bar last week, continuing to provide horrific and disturbing testimony about events inside the prison walls hours after 27 inmates had been gunned to death in August 2012.
Under cross examination by lawyers for the accused, Kudabandara told courts how an investigator of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) visiting the prison during the initial investigations following the massacre had stated they had arrived to “wash away the sins of the Government”.
According to Kudabandara, these CID officials had requested Kudbandara to provide a statement. “As he was preparing to note down the statement he said we are here to wash away the sins of the government” Kudabandara told the courts.
Despite the continuous badgering by counsels to name the CID Officer who said these words, Kudabandara however vehemently refused. Last week Kudabandara revealed how two Army officers arriving at the prison showed him a list of the names of prisoners which they referred to as ‘Gota’s List’.
Continuing his testimony of the horrors which occurred within the prison walls that day Kudabandara recalled how Special Task Force (STF) personnel entered the Welikada Prison forcibly and fired tear gas at the inmates. He also revealed that the STF had commenced carrying out a search operation without requisite permission despite the efforts of the prison officials to prevent it.
In his testimony, Kudabandara said that on the day he was informed, around 1.30 pm, around 700 STF armed personnel had forcibly entered the Welikada prison premises along with the third accused, Prison Intelligence Unit Jailor Indika Sampath. Sampath is currently absconding and is believed to have fled abroad.
Having been informed that STF personnel were conducting search operations in the ‘L’ ward sans permission, Kudabandara said meeting STF Commandant Ranaweera and Prison Superintendent Gamini Jayasinghe at the latter’s office, he asked the STF Commandant not to proceed with that idea. This request was ignored by the officials.
During his testimony, Kudabandara said while accompanying the duo, they heard gunshots from the chapel building. Arriving at the scene, Kudabandara said he was informed that armed STF personnel along with two prison intelligence officers, Indika Sampath and Ajantha had forcibly entered the chapel building.
Trying to calm the prisoners who were threatening to attack, Kudabandara said he then requested STF officials to leave the building but they did not comply. As all hell broke loose Kudabandara recalled how he heard gunshots and saw STF personnel firing tear gas into A, B, C and D wards of the chapel building. “Following the tear gas attack, the inmates started running amok inside the the wards crying for water and pleading to be taken out of the ward. Despite my request not to fire tear gas into the kitchen ward and the ward where disabled and old inmates were housed, the STF personnel fired tear gas towards the disabled persons’ ward,” he said.
“In the meantime, the STF tear gas squad fired a number of tear gas shells towards the direction of the inmates of the ‘L ward’ and the ‘Bingo’ section. It was at this point the inmates started the attack on the armed STF personnel with bricks and other objects available with them,” he said.
The court will resume proceedings on October 30, 2019.