Ex-councillor found dead in a dinghy

Esa Khaleel, a former councillor of Malé atoll Kaashidhoo, was found dead Sunday in a dinghy at the island’s harbour.

Ali Sultan, Kaashidhoo island council’s current president, told the Maldives Independent that youths found him lying unconscious on a dinghy at around 3pm. The dinghy was not tied to the jetty and was floating away.

The dinghy belonged to Khaleel and he had just returned from a trip with a group of friends, Sultan said.

“The people left him at the jetty after returning. He waited to tie the dinghy to the jetty.”

When the youngsters found him, the dinghy was not tied to the jetty and was floating away from the harbour, Sultan said.

He was dead by the time he was taken to the island’s health centre.

A police spokesperson told SunOnline that a 57-year-old had been found dead in a dinghy on Kaashidhoo.

Police refused to disclose any further information, citing a pending investigation.

The cause of death remains  unclear. Sultan, however, dismissed possibility of foul play.

“I don’t believe this is the action of anyone. It wouldn’t have been 20 minutes earlier that the people left him at the jetty,” he said.

Photo: Sun.mv