A prisoner of the Pallekelle open-air prison had drowned after trying to escape by jumping into the Mahaweli river, Pallekelle police said. This prisoner (34) together with two other inmates had tried to flee from the Pallekelle open-air prison at about 9.45 am on March 24.
The prison officers had taken two of them into custody, but the other prisoner had jumped into the Mahaweli river and disappeared. Although a team of officers of the police life-saving team launched a search operation, they had not been able to find the body. The Prisons Department said that the body was later discovered floating in the Mahaweli river close to the prison camp, on March 25.
During police investigations it has been revealed that the deceased was a resident of Bloemandhal, Colombo. He had been arrested by the police for possessing drugs. He was sentenced to prison after being produced in the Court. He was to be released in May.