Lahiru's unfortunate death

Lahiru who said he was going to see Leisure World ....
 tasted babul with vegetable rotti ... ... drowned, disappearing into a pit

    A student of a reputed school in Colombo unfortunately drowned in a pit and died on recent Children's Day. It was revealed at the inquest into the death of Lahiru Sankalpa the 16 year old student, a resident of Kirullapona area had lied to his householders that he was going to Leisure World; but with friends had on the contrary had taken babul, an intoxicating item and had gone to have a dip in a water-pit where he died after drowning.

   Nadun Lakshan, a friend of Lahiru explained the incident in the following manner: "On that particular day ... actually what we told our home-people was I, Madushanka, Lahiru and Dinesh our clique of friends were going to World Children's Day celebrations at Kaluaggala Leisure World ... but we didn't go there. From Kirullapona we came to Kaluaggala and went to Welikanda with the idea of bathing there.

  At about 1.30 in the afternoon we reached the Modera pit. There ... we tasted the two packets of babul and the vegetable rottis ... and then after that we began to bathe in that pit. Lahiru was swimming here and there with e. After a short while Lahiru submerged ... but did not come up again for sometime. So we looked for him everywhere because of that. As Lahiru did not come up after he went down all three of us looked for him under water as much as possible ... but we couldn't find him. Then an aiya whom we know came there and we told him the story.

   Because he was good at diving he went inside the pit and dived right down and came up and said that Lahiru had got trapped inside the rocks. We pleaded with him to take Lahiru from that pit. He dived once again and with great difficulty brought up Lahiru to the shore.

   A lot of water had gone into Lahiru's mouth and we didn't notice him breathing. We then quickly put him into a three-wheeler and took him to hospital. There the doctors who examined him said that he had died".

  Lahiru's mother Mrs. Rupika Dharshani (48) gave evidence about the incident as follows: "We live in Kirullapona. My son who died is studying in a reputed school in Colombo. On the 1st my son said, 'Amme ... we're going to Leisure World ... with us the teachers also are going'. I gave my son 700 rupees. Madushanka and Nadun putha came to our house at about 8.30 in the morning to go with my son and later all of them left. At about 11.30 in the morning I spoke to my son over the phone. He said that they are on the way and that they'd be coming home in the evening. I didn't know that they had gone elsewhere.
 
  At about 6 in the evening Madushanka's mother came and told me that Lahiru putha had faced some trouble. Only then that I came to know that my son had died after drowning.
 
  Evidence led at the inquest and according to the Judicial Medical officer the coroner returned a verdict of death due to drowning as a result of suffocation.