The Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the Police has begun investigations into the death of 27 inmates at the Welikada prison in 2012.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara directs the investigation.

On November 9, 2012 prisoners at Welikada protested against a search operation conducted by the Special Task Force (STF) and took control of the prison for over 12 hours. 

An ensuing gun battle saw twenty seven prisoners lose their lives. 

Over 40 others were injured. 

While the government appointed a committee to look into the issue the report compiled by the committee was not made public.