MARGAO: Four young men lost their lives, while two others were badly injured in three separate road accidents in Salcete on Monday. All four victims were on two-wheelers.
Two cousins were killed when their scooter crashed into a tree on the side of the road, near the Holy Cross Chapel in Sarzora, in the wee hours of Monday.
The Cuncolim police identified the youth as Sarfaraz Bepari, 27, and Nazil Bepari, 23, residents of Culsabhat, Chandor. The two were originally from Karnataka, but lived in Chandor along with a large family, said the police. The cousins ran a restaurant in Varca, and after closing up their business for the day, took the same route home, via the Gudi-Paroda road, everyday.
Cuncolim PSI Kavita Rawat said that scooter rider Sarfaraz appeared to have lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the tree. Passers-by noticed them lying on the road in a pool of blood and called a 108-ambulance at around 3 am on Monday, said the PI.
They were taken to the South Goa District Hospital, Margao, where the duty doctor declared them both dead.
Cuncolim PI Tukaram Chavan said that an offence under Section 279 and 304 A of the IPC has been registered. The bodies of the two youths were handed over to their family after the post-mortem examination. The police removed the scooter from the spot of the accident and further investigation is in progress.
In the other fatal accident, motorcycle rider Cyrus Pereira, 19, a resident of Durga, Chinchinim, was killed when he hit a cyclist who was crossing the road in Chinchinim on Monday afternoon. The cyclist, 24-year-old Rajpal Oraon Dhanai, a labourer from Jharkhand, sustained serious injuries and is being treated at Goa Medical College Hospital, Bambolim.
According to Cuncolim PI Tukaram Chavan, the deceased teenager rode his motorcycle in a rash and negligent manner while proceeding from Chinchinim towards Assolna. He ploughed into Oraon who was crossing the road on a cycle, and both of them were thrown off their vehicles due to the impact of the collision. Pereira was declared brought dead at the South Goa District Hospital, Margao, while Oraon was shifted to GMC after his condition deteriorated.
Both two-wheelers involved in the accident were attached by the Cuncolim police.
The third accident was reported around 8 pm on Monday, next to the KTC Bus Stand in Cuncolim and involved two motorbikes and one car. 19-year-old Gajanan Chawan was proceeding from Margao to Cuncolim on his two-wheeler when he collided with a car, and another motorbike. Chawan was killed instantly, while the youth on the other bike, Sahil Shaikh, 19, sustained serious injuries.