The myste rious death of a Karnataka man holidaying in Goa has taken a dramatic turn, with Calangute police launching a search for a woman who allegedly spent several hours with him before he was found dead at a resort, his gold chain missing and the cause of death remain ing inconclusive. Investigators suspect the woman, who reportedly befriended the victim at a casino before accompany ing him, may have admin istered a substance that led to his death. She has since disappeared and is current ly untraceable.
The deceased, identi fied as Sandeep Salayam, was found unconscious at around 10 pm on Tues day after police traced his switched-off mobile phone to a resort in Calangute. He was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. His body was shifted to Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC), Bambolim, for a post-mortem on Wednesday. How ever, the autopsy failed to conclusively establish the cause of death, with police now awaiting further forensic exami nation. According to police, Salayam had driven to Goa on Mon day with six relatives and friends from Karnataka.
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The group, engaged in the water sports and fishing business, had chosen Goa for a holiday during the industry’s off-sea son and were staying in separate rooms at a hotel in Cal angute. On Monday night, the group visited a casino in Panjim, where Salayam, who was wearing a thick bracelet and a gold chain, was reportedly approached by a woman speak ing Kannada. Police said the two spent considerable time together in side the casino. At around 4 am, when the rest of the group decided to return to the hotel, Salayam reportedly chose to stay back, telling his friends he would return later. He never did. When repeated calls to his phone on Tuesday went un answered and the handset remained switched off, his com panions alerted the police.
Investigators eventually tracked the phone’s last location to another resort in Calangute, where Salayam was found dead. His relatives later noticed that the gold chain he had been wearing was missing. Police said the woman had left the resort earlier on Tues day evening and has remained absconding since then. Of ficers are examining CCTV footage from the casino and the resort in an effort to establish her identity and movements before and after Salayam’s death. Investigators are also probing whether the case bears similarities to another recent incident in which a tourist was allegedly befriended by a woman before being robbed of gold ornaments worth around Rs 10 lakh from a hotel in the State.
Salayam had reportedly worked for several years as the driver of a former Karnataka minister before returning to his native village of Malpe, where he started his own business. No FIR had been registered in the case till Wednesday evening, with police saying the investigation is continuing and that they are awaiting forensic findings to determine the exact cause of death.
