There is a risk of an outbreak of fever and a skin condition among inmates at the Galle prison, reports say.

Two inmates at the Galle prison have died and several others have been admitted to the Karapitiya Hospital due to an unidentified illness, the Prison Department had said.

Although the reason is yet to be formally announced, unconfirmed reports say that medical experts suspect the Meningococcal disease to be the reason. Meningococcal disease is said to be severe or deadly, especially to children and to those in poor health such as drug addicts.

It is said that medical staff at the hospital have been urged to take safety measures, such as wearing facemasks, when treating patients with such symptoms.

Minister of Estate Infrastructure Development – Jeevan Thondaman has issued a clarification on a viral video that shows him threatening an official at an estate in Matale District.

The incident had occurred when the minister had visited the Ratwatte Estate in the Elkaduwa Plantation in the Matale District to inquire about the mistreatment of an impoverished family by the estate assistant manager, by forcibly tearing down their house.

“As Minister, I demanded action from the Chairman and General Manager of the Estate against this behaviour. Immediate steps were taken, and the Assistant Manager has been removed and dismissed.

“The Chairman, General Manager, and the responsible Assistant Manager also personally apologised to the affected family. Moreover, the Estate has committed to constructing a permanent home for them within its premises. But this is just the beginning,” he had said.

The matter was also Tweeted by MP Mano Ganesan, who had taken up the matter with Minister of Plantations Ramesh Pathirana, calling for the assistant manager to be sacked.

A woman has been arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport for the possession of four passports.

The arrested woman has been identified as a 48-year-old resident of Kalpitiya and the she had been arrested by the Police Narcotics Unit at BIA after landing at the airport around 4.40am from Chennai, India.

Police said she had concealed the passports in sarees, which she had claimed to have bought in India.

Officers suspect she had brought the passports to be handed over to traffickers who make arrangements for locals to travel to European countries.

The suspect has been handed over to the CID along with the passports.