MAPUSA
In what appears to be yet another case of trust gone wrong, a tourist who had hired a car in Calangute allegedly vanished with the vehicle, leaving the owner in distress and the police on the lookout.
The incident came to light after Suraj Thakur (21), a resident of Orda, Candolim, lodged a complaint at the Calangute Police Station stating that a man, identifying himself as Arjun Ram, had taken a white Hyundai Creta (GA03-AH-5486) on rent and later disappeared with it.
According to the complaint, the accused, believed to be a tourist from Barmer, Rajasthan, hired the car from the complainant and took possession of it on September 25, around noon, near Hotel Neelam’s Grand in Baga-Calangute. However, when the time came to return the vehicle, the accused switched off his phone and went untraceable.
Repeated attempts by Thakur to contact Arjun Ram proved futile, and it soon became evident that the man had absconded along with the car.
Police have registered an offence under Section 316 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for criminal breach of trust, treating the case as one where the accused misused the owner’s trust to make off with the property.
Police teams are verifying the accused’s background and tracing the route the car might have taken after it went missing.
Locals say such cases have become increasingly common in coastal belts where tourists often hire vehicles in good faith. “Most of these deals happen informally, without proper paperwork. When someone runs away, the owners are left helpless,” said a local car rental operator from Calangute.
