One prisoner died while four other prisoners sustained injuries when a tense situation broke out at the Anuradhapura Prison in north central Sri Lanka on Saturday, police said, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
The police said that following a violent protest by prisoners who demanded to leave the prison premises amid the COVID-19 threat, a team from the special task force and the military rushed in to calm the situation which led to the police opening fire to prevent the prisoners from breaking out.
Local media reports said that the tense situation erupted after a prisoner, suspected to be suffering from the symptoms of the COVID-19, was taken to a hospital.
The prisoner tested negative, but other prisoners demanded they be protected from the virus, local media reports said.
Police said the situation had turned violent which led to one prisoner being killed and four others injured.
The injured prisoners had been taken to a hospital.