Team Herald
PANJIM: In a shocking incident, a youth from Bharuch, Gujarat, was feared drowned in a river at St Estevam, in the early hours of Saturday, after a ‘high-speed chase’, which resulted in the rent-a-car plunging into the water.
Twenty-two-year-old Bashudev Bhandari has been reported missing since then, while his female companion, a native of Unjha, Gujarat, studying in the Goa Institute of Management (GIM), Sankhali, managed to swim to safety.
According to the Old Goa Police, the incident occurred at around 12.45 am, when the duo, who had hired a rent-a-car for a weekend outing, was involved in a minor accident with another vehicle at Marcela.
In a desperate attempt to flee the scene, the pair sped away, only to be chased by an unidentified vehicle. As the chase continued, Bashudev panicked, and drove the car onto a ferry ramp and later landed into the river at St Estevam.
Preliminary inquiry by the Old Goa Police revealed that the incident occurred after midnight. On receiving information about the incident at around 2.05 am, the fire personnel, who arrived at the spot, managed to retrieve the vehicle with the help of a crane on Sunday afternoon. However, despite a thorough search operation involving trained divers, Bashudev was not yet located.
The local authorities have been working round-the-clock to piece together the events that led to the incident.
The police are investigating whether the car was genuinely being chased, or if the GPS ‘error’ led the duo to the ferry point. The CCTV footage from the area is being checked to unearth more details. The female survivor is now a key figure in the investigation.
The police are expected to question her to gain insight into the sequence of events that led to the incident.
Several personal belongings, including Bhandari’s pants, a laptop, and two to three bags were recovered from the car. However, despite these findings, the search for the missing youth continues. The incident has sent shockwaves across Goa, with citizens raising concerns about safety and the mysterious circumstances that led to the incident.
Meanwhile, speaking to O Heraldo, Station Fire Officer, Old Goa, R D Parab said, “We received a call at around 2 am. Immediately, a team from the Kundaim fire station rushed to the spot. Before the team arrived, the girl met the locals, who later contacted the police. The fire brigade team retrieved the vehicle with the help of a crane following assistance from Navy divers and coastal police. However, the man was not in the car which was retrieved from the river. We only found a trouser and a laptop inside the car.”
A team of 20 personnel from the Fire and Emergency Services (FES) led by Assistant Divisional Officer Ajit Kamat was involved in the rescue operation which continued till 8 pm on Sunday.
Parab said the rescue operation will resume on Monday.