Three youths died in two separate road accidents in North Goa on Monday morning, including two law students whose motorcycle collided with a taxi on the new Mandovi bridge, while police said non-functional cameras were preventing them from determining the circumstances of the crash.
The first accident occurred at around 3am as Kushagra Patale, 21, from Vikhroli, Mumbai, and Yash Malik, 20, from Rohtak, Haryana, travelled from Porvorim towards Vasco. Malik was residing in Goa and both were students of the India International University of Legal Education and Research in Sancoale.
Their motorcycle collided with a taxi travelling in the opposite direction on the bridge. The taxi was carrying a tourist couple, who escaped without injuries. The driver, Rajkumar Kattimani, a resident of Sangolda, was also unhurt, although police found the front of the taxi badly mangled.
An FIR has been filed against Kattimani. No arrest had been made until late Monday night, according to the report. Police said the absence of functional cameras on the Mandovi bridge had delayed efforts to establish how the collision occurred.
“There are no functional cameras on the Mandovi bridge and so we are yet to determine the circumstances under which the accident took place,” a policeman was quoted as saying.
The two students were taken to Goa Medical College in Bambolim, where they were declared dead. Post-mortem examinations were conducted and their bodies were later handed over to their families.
A second fatal crash was reported in the Goa Velha area on the same morning. Mitesh Shet, 22, a resident of Guirim, died after his motorcycle struck a parked military truck. Shet had been travelling from Margao towards Guirim when the crash occurred.
The two incidents occurred on roads connecting major residential, educational and tourist areas of North Goa. The Mandovi bridge is a key link between Porvorim and the southern parts of the state, while the second crash involved a route used by travellers between Margao and Guirim.
The police investigation into the Mandovi bridge collision remains underway. Authorities are yet to determine the circumstances of that crash, and the reported lack of working surveillance cameras remains a stated limitation in the investigation. Further action will depend on the investigation and the FIR registered against the taxi driver.
