Katuwellegama Suresh Is Alive, Despite Viral Death Claims

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As the deadly Negombo Prison tragedy continued to dominate the news, contested claims spread across social media in its wake. One of them alleged that Katuwellegama Suresh, the inmate named in reports as the person who orchestrated the clash and since moved to Boossa Prison, had been killed inside that prison. We checked the claim with the authorities. Here is what we found.

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Fact Check:

After the severe unrest and violence that began at Negombo Prison last Sunday (July 5), authorities transferred 1,033 inmates from the facility to other prisons across the island as a security measure. These included Pallekele Bogambara Open Prison, Boossa High-Security Prison, Welikada and Angunukolapelessa. More details are available here and here.

Katuwellegama Suresh Was Transferred to Boossa Prison

According to preliminary investigations, the clash targeted a group of inmates who had tipped officials off about a drug-trafficking operation running inside the prison, and reports since indicate that the inmate Katuwellegama Suresh orchestrated the attack. On the information available so far, Katuwellegama Suresh, regarded as the chief instigator of the Negombo Prison clash, was transferred to Boossa High-Security Prison in Galle. More details are available here, here and here.

Given that context, had he indeed been killed inside that prison, mainstream media would certainly have reported it. Our preliminary checks found that no mainstream outlet or credible official source has confirmed the death of Katuwellegama Suresh.

In fact, mainstream media reported that he remains safe at Boossa Prison. That report is available here.

Claims That Katuwellegama Suresh Was Killed Are False

Police Media Division

We contacted the Police Media Division to check the claim that Katuwellegama Suresh, named in connection with the prison clash, had been killed at Boossa Prison. They confirmed the claim is false. They noted, however, that two people transferred from Negombo Prison, to Angunukolapelessa and Boossa, had since died, reportedly of sudden illness, and that post-mortem examinations for both were to be held that day.

Prisons Headquarters

We also contacted Prisons Headquarters, which confirmed that claims of Katuwellegama Suresh’s death at Boossa Prison are false. While an inmate transferred from Negombo to Boossa has died, the authorities confirmed that this person was not the individual named in the circulating posts.

Boossa Prison

When we contacted Boossa Prison directly, it too confirmed that claims of Katuwellegama Suresh’s death are false. After checking, officials told us he is alive.

How the False Claim Likely Started

Two inmates transferred from Negombo to Boossa and Angunukolapelessa prisons had reportedly died of sudden illness. Because Katuwellegama Suresh is also held at Boossa Prison and has been reported as the alleged mastermind of the clash, that overlap may explain how the false claim of his death at Boossa took shape.

One inmate transferred from Negombo to Boossa died after being admitted to Karapitiya Teaching Hospital in Galle following a sudden illness. Another, transferred to Angunukolapelessa Prison, also died shortly after arriving there. Further details are available here and here.

The Current State of the Negombo Prison Clash

The overall death toll from the July 5 and 6 unrests at Negombo Prison has now risen to 29, with the number of officers killed rising to seven after an injured prison officer died while receiving treatment. The government has assigned the investigation to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and a three-member special committee chaired by retired Supreme Court Judge Priyantha Fernando, appointed by the Presidential Secretary, held its first meeting on July 9 at the Presidential Secretariat. More details are available here and here.

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Conclusion

Our fact-check confirms that claims of Katuwellegama Suresh, reported as the mastermind of the Negombo Prison clash and transferred to Boossa Prison, having been killed there are false. While two inmates transferred from Negombo to Boossa and Angunukolapelessa prisons have reportedly died of sudden illness, it has been confirmed that Katuwellegama Suresh is not among them, and that he is alive. We rate the claim as false.