Thirteen days on, the Old Goa police are still investigating a number of theories, one of which is that Bhandari might have left Goa because he was afraid. It has also been suggested by his family that he might have been able to swim to shore. Even if he wasn't a strong swimmer, he could have easily made it ashore because it was only a few meters away, according to police sources.
The police added that they had searched every airport, bus stop, and train station in the state, but they had not found any leads. The incident has also been reported by police to their counterparts across the border between India and Nepal. The Bhandari family moved to Gujarat from Nepal, where they are originally from.
When Bhandari's father informed the police on September 4 that his son's phone had been briefly active, they checked the call detail record (CDR). Though no more activity was observed on the phone, the police have ruled out the possibility that it was in use and have suggested that Bhandari's father's attempt to contact him may have been a cross-connected call.
The search is still ongoing, with the goal of finding Bhandari. The search was earlier conducted by a number of teams, including the fire department and coastal police. Bhandari was traveling with a female friend from Sankhali to Panjim prior to her disappearance. There had apparently been a small collision at Marcel, and they were being pursued by another car.
Later on, the vehicle from the collision was discovered close to Hubballi.
At the Old Goa police station, the driver and one passenger were brought in for interrogation. According to the police investigation, Bhandari fled the scene without speaking to anyone about the minor accident, which gave the locals of Belagavi reason to follow him.