Lankan's death at Madurai prison: Embassy official holds enquiry

Madurai, Tamil Nadu, Oct 8 (UNI) A high-level official of Sri Lankan embassy at Chennai today held detailed enquiries with the District Collector and senior police and prison officials over the recent killing of a Sri Lankan national by a security guard in front of the Madurai Central Prison.

Official sources told UNI here that First Secretary to the Deputy High Commissioner M H Marsho arrived here to get first hand information over the incident. He met the Madurai District Collector S S Jawahar, RDO Narayanamurthy and senior police and prison officials and held detailed discussions.

Later, he visited the site, where Warnakulasooriya Canicius Fernando (44) was shot dead on suspicion, Friday.

Talking to media, at the Madurai Central Prison campus, he said he had come here to thank the officials for extending full cooperation in probing the incident. He refused to divulge any other details regarding his visit.

Police had made tight security arrangements in and around the prison complex in view of his visit.

Meanwhile, the four incarcerated Sri Lankan fishermen Thompe Joqunenu Kaushan Makiriququo, Kurukulasuriya John Visthirin Fernando, Sebastian Francis Piqaredu and Kurukulasuriya Sujan Kumara Fernando, charged under various sections of the Indian Maritime Zone Act and Indian Passport Act, were released this evening as their four months imprisonment ended today.

The Coast Guard arrested them on June 13 for entering into Indian waters without any valid documents and handed over them to the Tuticorin police, who had registered case against them.

A special police team had taken them to Tuticorin, as soon as they were released from the prison.

Police sources said after completing the legal formalities, all the four Sri Lankan fishermen would be deported to the island nation.

UNI