CANACONA
The forest guard who went missing from his duty at Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary and traced two days later in Pandharpur-Maharashtra said he had no memory of how he reached Pandharpur.
While family members and locals in Cotigao were relieved as Yogesh Velip was brought back to Canacona by a police team, mystery still surrounds his disappearance from the Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary and his unexpected appearance in Pandharpur.
“I have no memory as to how, where and when I boarded a bus on Monday and reached the Pandharpur bus-stand,” said Velip, while speaking to The Goan.
“The last thing I remembered was being on duty manning the Yedumoll Gate, which I opened to allow the entry of a truck laden with laterite stones heading towards Bhutpal for construction of a temple.”
“The next thing I recollect is waking from my sleep at about 5 pm on Monday and finding myself seated on a moving bus. From the conductor, I gathered that the bus was to reach the Pandharpur bus stand in a short while.”
“I tried to compose myself and saw that my mobile battery was very low and I had some money in my pocket,” said Velip.
On alighting at the bus stand late Monday evening, Velip said though his mobile phone had some charge, he had no talk time to make calls.
“I engaged rickshaw driver for Rs 40 to take me to the temple. Feeling the need to make a mobile call, I was directed to a pharmacy to top-up my mobile. I tried to call my brother but soon realised that he would not be in range in Cotigao at night.”
“I then called a friend in Mastimoll-Canacona, who was worried about my whereabouts. The friend told me about an extensive search operation all over forest areas,” recalled Velip.
The friend then told Velip to remain where he was, rushed to Cotigao and informed his family about Velip’s presence in Pandharpur.
The family then alerted the police and after getting a Google location, the police got in touch with their counterparts in Pandharpur. A team from the Pandharpur police met Velip near the temple at about 11 pm and took him to the police station.
A team from Goa comprising two policemen, three forest officers, Velip’s brother and two other friends went in two vehicles to Pandharpur on Tuesday morning and met him. They returned to Canacona on Tuesday at midnight.
When contacted, Canacona police said the statements of the missing forest guard appeared unusual and they could not ascertain how he had landed up in Pandharpur.
Asked if any bus or any travelling tickets were found with Velip, Canacona Police Inquiry Officer Swadesh Desai replied in the negative.
Police is also attempting to locate the vehicle which had last interacted with Velip, before proceeding to the temple in Bhutpal.
The police stated that since the missing forest guard has been found, the case is settled and he was handed over to his family on Wednesday morning.
