The officers who came from outside died in prison due to their unfamiliarity with the exit points inside.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) today (14) revealed before the Negombo Magistrate's Court that the prison police officers called from outside to quell the recent violent clash within the Negombo Prison were trapped inside the premises due to their lack of proper understanding of the direction of the net gate leading out. The government party informed the court that the trapped officers were brutally beaten to death by the inmates, and that statements have been recorded from 287 individuals, including prison officers, regarding this horrific incident which claimed the lives of 10 prison police officers of the Police Special Tactical Force and 21 inmates.

This unrest began on the morning of the 5th, and the primary instigator was a suspect named Katuwelle Gama Suresh alias Suresh Pushpakumara (registration number 4423), who was detained in Ward A1 of the prison. Due to a dispute he had with prison officers, claiming he did not have enough time for exercise, steps were taken to transfer him to Ward L. However, he caused another clash there, leading to his return to Ward A1, where two inmates died and 36 others were injured in the initial assaults.

Following that initial clash, the inmates forcibly took control of the entire prison. Although the Negombo Police and the Negombo Criminal Division were informed, the inmates did not allow police officers to inspect the crime scene. As the inmates maintained control of the prison until the next day, prison authorities took steps to summon 89 prison police officers from Colombo to control the situation at the premises, which housed 2,417 inmates (162 convicts, 2,255 remand prisoners, and 161 women) and 161 staff members across 16 wards. Later, on the morning of the 6th, when prison officers went to distribute breakfast, the inmates warned them to leave, and the clash re-erupted between 10:30 AM and 10:50 AM. Although Negombo prison officers managed to escape by running through the net gate, the external prison police officers who came to quell the fight were trapped inside, unable to find their way out, and were subjected to attacks by the inmates. Subsequently, the inmates broke into the prison armory, seized firearms, and began shooting, after which Police Special Task Force officers brought the situation under control by firing shots.

Assistant Police Inspector Kaluarachchi of the Commercial Crimes Division of the Criminal Investigation Department, along with a team of officers, presented a further report on this incident, stating that all identified suspects would be prosecuted under murder charges, the Firearms Ordinance, the Public Property Act, as well as sections 102, 113, 146, 186, 300, 315, 316, 317, and 344 of the Penal Code. Sixty firearms used for the killings, along with live ammunition, have been handed over to the evidence room, and during searches within the prison, 271 T56 rounds and 9mm rounds were found. Although the inmates destroyed the DVR machines of the prison's CCTV cameras, Negombo Chief Magistrate Shilani Perera granted permission to the Criminal Investigation Department to send two hard drives found there to the Computer Department of the University of Moratuwa for video analysis, and to obtain footage recorded online by the Army Signal Corps, which installed the prison's CCTV cameras.

The three short post-mortem reports submitted by the Judicial Medical Officer regarding the deaths mentioned severe beatings, gunshot wounds, and open verdicts. It was also stated in court that all other examinations have been completed, except for the post-mortem reports of the prison officer and Indian nationals who died during the night. Meanwhile, upon a request made by Chief Police Inspector Karunathilaka of the Commercial Crimes Division, the Chief Magistrate ordered the Commissioner General of Prisons to facilitate the collection of evidence and statements from all inmates who were present at the time of the incident and are currently detained in various prisons across the island. Additionally, orders were issued to the Valuation Department to assess the property damage incurred. Currently, 40 officers from three investigation teams are conducting inquiries, and the Magistrate has ordered the Criminal Investigation Department to submit the progress of these investigations by the 16th, and to make arrangements to summon evidence for deaths for which evidence has not yet been called.