Nimanthi Ranasinghe Courtesy The Daily Mirror

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has initiated an inquiry into the threats said to have made by prominent underworld criminals currently under detention in the Boossa Prison to three senior prison officers, that they have the capacity to kill anyone they want, even the president or the defence secretary.

We have weapons, we have our men out, and you can do nothing keeping us in a cell. We will kill all of you – the head of the prison, defence secretary, even the president. His position is nothing to us – he will be president only for five years,” these underworld criminals had told top prison officials.

Accordingly, it was revealed that underworld leaders known as Dharmakeerthi Perera Wijesekera alias ‘Kosgoda Tharaka’ and a group of detainees of organised criminal gangs, Kelum Indika Sampath alias Kewuma and Janith Madusanka de Silva now under detention in Boossa Prison, had made this remark.

Statements from Prison Commissioner (Welfare and Rehabilitation) Chandana Ekanayaka, Prison Commissioner(Operations), Thusitha Uduwara and Head of Prison Intelligence Division Prasad Premathilaka were recorded yesterday by the CID for over four hours.

Kosgoda Tharaka and other detainees had made these remarks to the prison officers when they met the detainees during their visit to look into the fasting protest these detainees engaged in.

The complaint regarding these remarks of the detainees made to the top prison officers, was made to the ministry of defence and the police headquarters.