Sr citizen found dead in Ganpati immersion pond

NAVI MUMBAI: A 67-year-old man was found dead in the Ganpati immersion pond in Dhakta Khanda, a neighbourhood in Khanda colony, Panvel taluka on Sunday early morning. The body was found floating in the pond by a local resident, who alerted the Kamothe police.
The Kamothe police informed that the deceased has been identified as Vikas Verma, who was staying on pavements in Khanda colony and used to sell helmets on the streets as his source of livelihood.He hails from Fatehpur, UP and had been staying in Khanda colony for past 20 years, after he came from his native place where he resided with his son, who is a doctor working in Saudi Arabia. As he was staying on the pavements, his son had given his contact number to some local residents and requested them to keep him updated about his well being.
On Sunday morning, when Verma's body was found in the pond, a local resident Dilip Mhatre informed his son, who was in Fatehpur as he had returned from Saudi Arabia on a holiday.
The police informed that, prima facie, an accidental death case has been registered and Verma's body has been kept at Panvel sub-district hospital, where his postmortem will be conducted for ascertaining the cause of his death. Verma's son is coming from Fatehpur to claim his father's body for conducting his final rites.