Navy driver held in Merces hit-and-run

Panaji: Old Goa police on Monday arrested Naganesh Bandi, 32, a resident of Varnapuri, Dabolim, and native of Andhra Pradesh in the Merces hit-and-run case where a pedestrian was killed on Friday.
The pedestrian, Manoj Sashidharan, 39, a resident of Merces succumbed to his injuries at Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim.
Old Goa police inspector Satish Padwalkar said that the accused was returning home from an onshore casino in Porvorim.
Investigations revealed that when Bandi reached near culvert between Panaji circle and Merces roundabout, he rammed into Sashidharan who was walking on the road.
Bandi later fled away from the spot, police said.
Padwalkar said that broken parts of the car from the accident site, and after consulting expert mechanics, police narrowed down the vehicle to a 2010 model.
After registering the first information report (FIR) in the case, police formed five teams to trace the vehicle and gather information from garages, locals, and CCTV footage.
The car driver works in the Indian Navy and was hiding the vehicle behind his residential quarters in Varnapuri Naval Quarters, Padwalkar said.
The accused was changing his location to evade arrest, said Padwalkar.