Vehicle driven in rash, negligent manner on beach: Officials
RISK AT THE SHORELINE: A JCB pulls an SUV out of the water after it got stuck on Vagator Beach on Sunday morning.
MAPUSA
A 22-year-old tourist’s vehicle was partially swept by waves after it got stuck on Vagator beach in Anjuna early on Sunday, in yet another instance highlighting reckless driving by visitors on the State’s beaches.
According to police, a Gujarat-registered Toyota Fortuner was driven onto the sandy stretch of Vagator beach, where it became lodged in the sand.
As the tide began to rise, waves entered the vehicle, prompting authorities to deploy heavy machinery to retrieve it. A JCB was eventually brought in to pull the SUV out of the water.
Police identified the vehicle owner as Arjun Singh Rawat (22).
Officials stated that the car was driven in a rash and negligent manner on the beach and into the water, thereby endangering human life and violating established safety norms that prohibit vehicles from entering coastal stretches.
An offence has been registered by Anjuna Police under Sections 281 and 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant provisions of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules and the Motor Vehicles Act.
However, the owner later claimed that he had handed over the vehicle to hotel staff for washing and had not authorised it to be taken onto the beach.
“I had given the car for washing, not to be driven onto the beach,” he said.
Despite the clarification, police maintain that accountability lies with the driver, and investigations are underway to establish the sequence of events.
The incident adds to a growing list of cases where tourists, often arriving in private vehicles, disregard regulations and drive onto beaches – posing serious risks to pedestrians, local residents, and themselves.
Authorities have repeatedly warned that such actions not only damage fragile coastal ecosystems but also endanger lives, even as enforcement continues to be tightened across popular beach destinations in Goa.
