The Kalpitiya footballer who passed away after a fishing boat overturned

Rajini Jesu Sanduka Almeida, a talented 20-year-old football player residing in the Kalpitiya, Anawasal area, tragically lost his life in a fishing boat accident near Uchchamunai Island. Sanduka, the eldest child in a family of three, had a strong ambition to excel in football and bring glory to the country.

After his school education, this young man, like his father, took up fishing. However, due to his exceptional talent in football, with the help of some friends, he went to the Colombo area, found employment, and joined a sports club. There, he achieved many victories by showcasing outstanding skills, and recently participated in a football tournament held in Malaysia, representing Sri Lanka.

Sanduka, who came home on the 11th for a holiday, had planned to go to the annual festival at the Pallikandal Shrine located in Wilpattu National Park, but that trip was missed because two friends did not return on time. He was preparing to return to Colombo for work on Monday (13th), but disappeared from home after having breakfast on the 12th. Subsequent investigations by relatives revealed that the boat he was traveling in had capsized and met with an accident.

According to police investigations, it has been revealed that this group had gone to investigate another vessel that had met with an accident while transporting a stock of beedi leaves for a trafficker in the Kalpitiya Anawasal area, and that Sanduka was unaware of the true purpose of the trip. It was revealed that when he went to retrieve his mobile phone, which had been taken by a neighboring relative, he was strategically involved in this trip by being told that a boat had met with an accident near Uchchamunai Island. Investigations have also pointed out that many valuable young lives are being lost due to such illegal trafficking and drug menace operating in the Kalpitiya area.

Mrs. Nirmala Fernando, Sanduka's mother, who was deeply distressed and wept at the inquest held at Puttalam Base Hospital, stated that her son constantly said that he would reach the highest level in football and bring fame to the country. Although there was no doubt regarding the death of her son, who had wronged no one, she tearfully described the immense grief she felt from this unbearable loss.

Sanduka's body, which had been missing after the accident, was found by a group of fishermen on the evening of the 14th near the coast of Uchchamunai Island and was handed over to his relatives after the post-mortem examination. When the body was brought home on the evening of the 15th, a football was placed on the coffin where his body lay, in remembrance of his sporting dream, and his final rites were performed yesterday evening amidst the grief of a large crowd at the Kalpitiya Roman Catholic Cemetery.