NT Reporter
Margao
The Margao police have arrested Swaraj Jagtap, a 19-year-old native of Pune, Maharashtra, and charged him with attempt to murder following a hit-and-run incident at Sirlim on National Highway-66.
The incident, which was captured on a dashboard camera of a car, occurred on May 26 when a 44-year-old woman riding a scooter was critically injured after being knocked down by a rented sports utility vehicle (SUV) allegedly driven by Jagtap. The vehicle was travelling from Margao towards Cuncolim at the time.
Police inspector Arun Dessai stated that the attempt to murder charge was applied because the SUV driver deliberately drove along the shoulder of the road, struck the woman from behind and sped away.
According to the police, the victim survived because her helmet absorbed the blow. She is currently undergoing surgeries at the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC) in Bambolim for multiple fractures to her hip, neck and legs.
Following a probe using CCTV footage, the Margao police tracked the vehicle to North Goa late Tuesday night and detained three youths from Calangute. The primary accused, Jagtap, was presented before a magistrate on Wednesday and has been remanded to three days of police custody for further interrogation.
The investigators have ordered the SUV owner to submit all official documents of the vehicle, alongside the identification Jagtap provided when renting it, to check for any discrepancies.
Dessai said that a case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and that the police will soon file a chargesheet as further investigation progresses.
