Drowned Arafat, tops HSSC vocal stream

Paulo Carvalho

teamherald@herald-goa.com

CURCHOREM: The 17-year-old student, late Muhammad Arafat Shaik resident of Curchorem, who drowned along with Councillor of Margao Municipal Council late Ashlesha Naik in the Khandepar River at Vagume-Sonarbag, has stood first in Goa in the Vocational Stream, in the HSSC examinations 

Arafat’s did not survive the swim that fateful day, but when the HSSC March examination results were declared on Thursday, his parents, yet to recover from the recent death of their son, revealed his achievements.

His father Shaik Mubarak Ali, who is still in the state of shock, told Herald that Arafat was a student of Mount Mary’s Higher Secondary School, Chinchinim and had secured 92.6 per cent marks in Catering and Restaurant Management Course of the Vocational Stream.

 Arafat had also appeared for the Entrance Test in National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology. His father is the Principal of Rizvi College of Hotel Management, Mumbai and his mother Sadika M. Ali is a faculty member at Mount Mary’s Higher Secondary School, Chinchinim.

It may be recalled that on May 1, a group of around 27 people from Margao, Curchorem and surrounding areas had gone for a picnic. While swimming in the river, the MMC Councillor Naik saw Arafat from Curchorem drowning and went to save him. However, she was also pulled in by the strong current in the water and both drowned.