Ajith who went in search of 'Grease yakka' for the benefit of village women ... falls into well and dies

Ajith who went in search of 'Grease yakka' for the benefit of village women ... falls into well and dies

24 year old Amith Priyankara living in Walpita set off from a 'bana' house last Sunday in the company of two others with the fervent idea of somehow or other nabbing the 'grease yakka' who is supposed to be moving around the village of Walpita. Whatever the matter of apprehending 'grease yakka' was, young Amith Priyankara had to pay the price by sacrificing his life by falling into a concrete well.

On inquiring from the villagers about this, what they said was that because of the phobia associated

with 'grease yakka' women in the village have shown a strong fear of getting out in the nights and that they have had to forego their sleep because of taps heard on the doors and windows. The phobia concerned has engulfed the entire Jalthara area and some women have had to face harassment in the process too. The villagers say that they have been frightened and even gold jewellery have been looted. What villagers say is that  complaints have been lodged with police from time to time but there had been no satisfactory response from them and that the police had told them to get hold of 'grease yakka' and to hand him over to them without assaulting him.

"With the noise of curlews and dogs barking we suspect that somebody is walking around the village. What we suspect is that 'grease yakka' enters the village across the paddy fields. It's because CCTV factors were installed before this 'that grease yakkas' were noticed to have gone around Jalthara. So because the village of Jalthara (route 193) is found beyond the paddy fields, there is more of a probability of them coming along the paddy fields", they say.

The villagers who were saddened with the departure of their brotherly Amith explained this incident as follows: Mr. Chaminda Madhusanka says "Amith Priyankara is a friend of ours. Amith together with two others had proceeded towards the community-well in search of 'grease yakka'. We proceeded down. These days the task we had in hand was to apprehend 'grease yakka'. Amith had no stable job. He had only his mother and elder sister. As his elder sister was married, it was Amith and Amith's mother who were at home".

Mr. Sugath: "Amith's mother was constantly concerned about Amith. That day also as he got late to come home he had been given a call. Then it was around 1.30 in the morning. Though it was Amith's mother's habit to come in search of him whenever he got late to come, on that particular day she didn't step outside, with this phobia hovering around. Amith and the other two had been resting at this community-well. That well is closed from above. But there are 3 openings on the concrete slab. It was from one of those openings that Amith had fallen into the well. This is an opening of about 2 feet and 1 and a half. Though the other two had walked around the two sides of the opening covered by a sheet, Amith by mistake had placed his foot on the sheet. It was at that time that he had collapsed with the sheet giving way. This well is about 30 feet deep. There's water too about 15 feet. He was taken out around 2.30 in the morning".

M.P. Nandapala: "At that moment I jumped into the well to rescue Amith malli even without a rope as such ... simply on the impulse of that moment. Now of course I can't even think of it. As soon as I jumped I went down intothe water. I couldn't find Amith. The second time also I failed. On the third time I carried Amith and came to the surface of the water".

According to the medical examination of Mr. Navasivagam, Dr. of Homagama Base Hospital who attended to the postmortem of the deceased young boy Amith Priyankara, Inquirer into Sudden Deaths of Homagama Base Hospital Mr. Chintaka Udaya Kumara returned a verdict of death caused by the respiratory apparatus being blocked as a result of drowning.

(Anusha Rajapaksha -- Panagoda; Champa Jeewanthi Habarakada -- S. Priyalal; photographs: Sarath Kumara)