TEAM HERALD
VASCO: Police investigations into the twin deaths at a Vasco hotel on Thursday have revealed that Nandan Pandey of Uttarakhand had strained ties with his family, even warning them that he would commit suicide if they were to search for him in Goa.
This came to light when Vasco police on Saturday recorded the statements of Nandan’s uncle, Chandan Bhat, who had arrived from Uttarakhand on Friday evening to claim the body of Pandey.
Bhat told Vasco police that Pandey’s father was employed with the Border Security Force and had died in an encounter when Pandey was barely six months old.
Bhat had also informed that Pandey had completed Merchant Navy courses at Gujarat and at Mumbai, and was keen to work in Goa. Pandey left his native place in 2009 and was employed on barges in Goa, before switching jobs and seeking employment in a factory at Verna.
Police said Pandey had never revealed to his family his whereabouts and jobs in Goa, but would occasionally get in touch with them over the phone.
In 2011, when Pandey failed to return to his native home, his family members had filed a missing complaint with the Bhageshwar police in Uttarakhand. Pandey had apparently warned his family members not to come in search of him to Goa, failing which he would commit suicide, police added.
Police further said that Pandey had last spoken to his family members in Uttarakhand in January 2015.
When asked, police informed that they have handed over the body of Pandey to Bhat, who will return to his native place a Bhagweshar-Uttarakhand on Sunday. Police also admitted that they are yet to record the statements of the family members of Priyanka Barad, the other deceased.
