Repatriation money raised for man killed in crash with Saskatchewan Roughrider

REGINA — An online fundraiser for a man who died in a car crash that also killed a Saskatchewan Roughrider player has collected about $80,000.

Tonish Patel says funds raised through GoFundMe for his friend Bhishma Rajyaguru are more than enough to cover the cost of repatriating the body to India.

Patel says the money will also help Rajyaguru’s parents in India as they navigate the loss of their son.

Rajyaguru, 22, came to Canada from the Indian state of Gujarat as an international student in 2022 and had been living in Regina.

He was killed Saturday night in a crash near Lumsden, northwest of Regina, along with Roughrider linebacker Jayden Dalke, 30.

Both died at the scene.

RCMP have said both men were driving SUVs and Dalke was on the wrong side of the divided highway before the crash. Alcohol and cannabis were later found in the football player’s vehicle.

Mounties also said that a half-hour before the crash, a gas station in Lumsden reported that Dalke’s SUV left with unpaid fuel.

There were no passengers in the vehicles. Autopsies and toxicology tests are being done.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said in a social media post Tuesday his heart remains heavy.

”We mourn the loss of 22 year-old Bhishma Rajyaguru, whose life was taken far too soon,” Moe said. “We extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones as they navigate their grief.”



Dalke, from Leduc, Alta., helped the Riders win the 2025 Grey Cup over the Montreal Alouettes in November.

Riders general manager Jeremy O’Day has said the team plans on holding a tribute for Dalke before the next home game. The Riders host the Edmonton Elks on Thursday.

Players are to wear Dalke’s initials on their helmets, O’Day said

Patel said he remembers his friend as a talented musician and a polite, hard-working man who enjoyed watching cricket.

He added that Rajyaguru’s body can’t be transported to India until the autopsies and tests are complete, and he didn’t know when that might be.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2026.

— By Fakiha Baig in Edmonton

The Canadian Press