Bandra mishap: They migrated to city for jobs, lost lives

When the police were making inquiries into the backgrounds of the Walter Case and Surendra Baraik, both 21, who died after their motorcycle collided head-on with a car on Monday morning, at Bandra, they were shocked.

When the police were making inquiries into the backgrounds of the Walter Case and Surendra Baraik, both 21, who died after their motorcycle collided head-on with a car on Monday morning, at Bandra, they were shocked.

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The similarities were uncanny. Both had dropped out of college two years ago and migrated to Mumbai looking for jobs. While Case moved from his hometown in Chhattisgarh to Bandra, Baraik left his hometown in Assam and moved into a flat in Khar.

They met last year when Case got a job in the utility department of Masala Zone restaurant in Bandra (West), and Baraik was recruited in the housekeeping department.

Baraik was juggling between two jobs. He used to work with a private firm during the day and come to the restaurant for evening shifts.

On Sunday, Case had taken the day off to celebrate Holi.

He met Baraik after he finished his shift at 12am.

The police said Case, who did not have a driving licence, and Baraik went for a ride on a friend’s motorcycle without informing him.

At Bandra Reclamation near the U-bridge, Case drove into a no-entry area and rammed into a Tata Indica, which inspector Santosh Dalvi, of the MHB Colony police station, was driving. He took the duo to nearby Bhabha Hospital, but they died before being admitted.

When Prashant Sawant, manager at the Bandra restaurant, learned about the accident on Monday morning, he was shocked. “Both were very professional. They were good friends… The hotel management never found any fault with their work,” said Sawant.

The police have informed the families in their hometowns about the accident.