Prisoner escapes from custody

Yasaratne Gamage

One civilian was injured when the police opened fire at a prisoner, Prasanna Kumara alias ‘Chooty putha’, who escaped from the custody of prison officers while he was being taken to Mt Lavinia Magistrate’s Court around 12.30 noon yesterday, sources said.

Mount Lavinia Police deployed a special team to hunt down the suspect. When the prison jailor and guard relaxed their hold on the suspect, he had broken free and started running. The jailor and guard had fired shots at him.

The car of a lady lawyer had also been damaged in the incident. The injured person was admitted to Kalubowila hospital with serious injuries. The police revealed that the suspect had escaped from Mt Lavinia and Mirihana police stations on an earlier occasion while in custody.