PANAJI
Odisha tourist Ankit Triparty was not only driving the rental car recklessly but he was also under the influence of alcohol. The Panaji police have arrested him for offenses including culpable homicide and drunken driving.
Police sources revealed to The Goan that Triparty was detained soon after the accident on the Mandovi Bridge on Thursday evening. As the body of victim biker Javed Sadekar is still untraceable, the police decided to take the accused into custody pending further investigation.
"There's a high risk that the accused may flee Goa if not taken into custody. Given the seriousness of the offenses, no leniency will be shown in the investigation," the source said.
The FIR has been registered under Sections 504 (culpable homicide), 279 (rash driving), 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code, and 185 (drunk driving) of the Motor Vehicles Act.
Meanwhile, search for Sadekar continued till Friday evening and will resume on Saturday. Police said the victim is feared to have drowned.
The accident on the bridge occurred around 5.20 pm on Thursday and the search and rescue operations were launched soon after by the Fire & Emergency Services who were later joined by Naval and Coast Guard personnel.
Sorties were made by the Coast Guard's helicopter and Naval deep sea divers were also called in to support the operation.
According to eye-witness accounts, Sadekar was heading towards Panjim while the rent-a-cab car driven by an Odisha native Ankit Tripathi was headed in the opposite direction but on the wrong side of the road.
One eye-witness account said the bike and the car crashed head on. The impact of the collision was such that the rider who got flung from his bike bounced from the dashboard of the car and plunged down into the river.
Earlier on Friday morning, a body found near the Campal indoor stadium initially believed to be Sadekar's was later identified as Surjit Sahai, a labourer from Jharkhand who had been missing for two days.
On Friday evening, another accident was reported between a rent-a-car and Karnataka registered vehicle, near Kala Academy. Fortunately, no injuries were reported but the vehicles were damaged.
