21-Year-Old Dies of Suffocation During BOC Training

 Dr. Mangala Kumara, the Judicial Medical Officer of Kegalle General Hospital, has concluded that the cause of death for the young man found fallen in a toilet during a residential training course held at MAS Athena, Thulhiriya, for a group of trainees selected for the Bank of Ceylon's Staff Assistant position, was suffocation.

The young man who tragically lost his life in this manner is 21-year-old Walisundara Mudiyanselage Akila Vimukthi Walisundara, a resident of Narangammanna, Aranayake.

It is reported that both parents of the deceased Akila Vimukthi are teachers, and he was the eldest in the family, with a younger brother.

After receiving his primary education from Mayurapada National School, Mawanella, and passing the scholarship examination, he entered Kegalu Maha Vidyalaya from the sixth grade. There, he achieved 9 'A' passes in the G.C.E. Ordinary Level examination and passed the Advanced Level examination, which he sat for in the Mathematics stream, with very high marks.

He was among the 258 individuals selected from over twenty thousand applicants for the Bank of Ceylon's Staff Assistant position, and police state that he was the youngest member of the selected group.

The five-day residential training workshop organized by the Bank of Ceylon for this group of trainees commenced on the 16th, and this young man, along with the others, went to Athena, Thulhiriya, on that day.

It has been revealed that although the young man did not come for breakfast and lunch on the 19th, the fourth day of the workshop, the bank officials who organized the workshop did not inquire about it, and employees had not gone to clean the relevant toilet system during that period.

Around 5:00 PM that evening, after lectures concluded, another young man who went to bathe saw the deceased young man fallen inside the toilet and informed the others.

When the others arrived and checked, they saw his tie and a long black rubber strap, which was attached to the toilet door, tied around the young man's neck. They immediately untied the straps and rushed him to Warakapola Hospital by ambulance.

However, police confirmed that the young man was already deceased upon admission to the hospital.

Following the reporting of facts by the Warakapola Police regarding the incident, Warakapola Acting Magistrate Mr. Chaminda D. Kotuwegoda conducted an examination of the body and the scene yesterday morning (21st).

After the post-mortem examination, the Magistrate ordered the police to hand over the body to his father, Mr. Walisundara Mudiyanselage Chamal Bandara, and to submit the medical report to the court.

Police have recorded statements from about 15 other young men who participated in the workshop regarding this death.

The post-mortem examination conducted by Dr. Mangala Kumara, the Judicial Medical Officer of Kegalle General Hospital, concluded that this was a death due to suffocation.

A team of officers, including OIC of the Warakapola Police Criminal Investigation Division Police Inspector Muditha Bandara and Sub-Inspector Sirimanna, are conducting further investigations into this matter.