31 December,2020 10:23 AM IST | Mumbai | Diwakar Sharma
It took the fire brigade and police all day to get the car out of the sea. Pics/Hanif Patel
The need to party ahead of New Year, and beach shacks along the coast in Vasai and Virar, are making youngsters throng to the beaches. The tide turned against one such group of around four at Kalamb beach and took their car away into the sea on Tuesday.
"The group of friends parked their car at the beach and got busy celebrating. But the car was getting caught in the tide. When the men went to get the car out of the water, they realised it is stuck in the sand," a source told mid-day.
Local cops seen at Bhuigaon beach on Wednesday
ALSO READ
Special | Maharashtra assembly elections: Who’s the real NCP in Mumbra-Kalwa?
Maharashtra assembly elections: Want unity, not CM post, says Uddhav Thackeray
Maharashtra assembly elections likely only after Diwali
Raut defends Uddhav's push for decision on CM's face from MVA allies
Long queues at voting centres as first ever hawkers polls in city begin
Instead of seeking immediate help from authorities, the men left the car hoping to come back during low tide, but it got swept away and reached Bhuigaon beach from Kalamb. Residents alerted the police on Wednesday morning and a team from Vasai police station and fire brigade reached the spot. "We reached around 8 am and the car was stuck in the middle of the sea. We could not identify the car's owner till afternoon," said zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police Sanjay Kumar Patil.
The teams tried to fish it out with a crane but in vain. So they waited until the low tide set in. When finally brought out, the car was completely damaged. "The car owner is Hitesh Upadhyay, resident of Sun City, Vasai. He told us that he went to feed birds at the beach when his car got stuck in the sand. Driving a vehicle on the beach is an offence. We have registered a case under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code at Vasai police station," Patil said.
"Such incidents are common as youngsters go to the beach where illegal shacks have mushroomed. They come to have parties in the night and cops do nothing. They don't fear the government's curfew," a source said.
On the other hand, the organisers of Nirvana Beach Camp were asked to visit Arnala police station on Wednesday after mid-day's front-page report. Sources at the police station told mid-day that the organisers have been given a strict warning against a New Year's Eve party and asked them to cancel all bookings
8 am
Time the police reached Bhuigaon beach after being alerted by locals about the car
