TEAM HERALD
VASCO: Tension prevailed at the Vaddem slope in Vasco when a motorcyclist from Issorcim-Hollant died on Monday afternoon after he was knocked down by a school bus.
According to Vasco police, Vishwesh Borkar was riding a motorcycle (GA-07-A-8542) from Vasco towards Hollant and on reaching the Vaddem slope he was struck by an oncoming bus (GA-08-U-3509).
Police said Borkar lost his balance and fell off the motorcycle and was crushed under the wheels of the bus. A police team later shifted the body to the Chicalim Cottage Hospital.
Locals gathered at the site and tried to block the road, after accusing the Vasco police of failing to reach the site in quick time, despite being about 1 km away from the accident scene.
The agitated locals also demanded action against the contractor, who is involved in road digging work, which had led to the reduced width of the road.
When Herald sought to know why the accident area was not marked by police, as part of its routine panchanama, before shifting the body and the vehicles, Vasco PI Rupendra Shetgaokar declined to comment.
Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida, who also rushed to the site, blamed the contractor involved in laying of the underground cable, for digging the road on both sides at the Vaddem slope near the police quarters without erecting proper signboards. Almeida then tried to pacify the agitated crowd and requested them to resolve the matter at the Vasco police station, instead of blocking the road.
Vasco police has registered an offence against the bus driver and PSI Gaurish Parab is investigating the case.
