Police have arrested 126 out of around 139 inmates who had escaped from the Kandakadu Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre on Monday (11) evening.

Army Media Spokesman Major General Ravi Herath stated that so far, the Police has arrested 126 out of around 139 inmates who had escaped from the Centre on Monday evening. Out of the arrested inmates, 44 individuals have been detained at the Pulasthipura Police Station, 23 at the Polonnaruwa Police Station, 34 at the Hingurakgoda Police Station, and 25 others have been detained at the Meegaswewa Police Station, he said.

Furthermore, Herath also emphasised that police and army personnel are continuing joint operations in search of 12 more escaped inmates, adding however that the other escapees are expected to surrender to the Police soon.

“There was a commotion between two groups at the Centre on Monday evening. The people who are detained here have been addicted to drugs for a long time and were sent here for rehabilitation by way of court orders. However, during this disturbance, some had escaped from the Centre,” Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Major General Darshana Hettiarachchi said.

“The first incident happened at around 5 p.m. After that, another group of inmates had escaped. There were 484 inmates in total at the Centre. We, the army troops, and the Police, are conducting search operations to arrest them,” the Commissioner General added. He revealed that the inmates have divided themselves into cliques based on their hometowns such as Negombo, Colombo, and Galle, adding that each group has made certain attempts to establish their control inside the Centre.

Nevertheless, local residents mentioned that there have been reports of clashes and breakouts at the Centre from time to time due to various problems faced by the inmates.

Meanwhile, Herath mentioned that the Centre and its locality now remain peaceful.