Goa, May 16 -- In the dark-ness of the Anmod Ghat forest, with no hospi-tal nearby, no mobile signal to call for help and a close friend desperately rac-ing against time through a lonely highway, renowned physiotherapist and social worker Dr Ketan Bhatikar spent the final moments of his life battling the dead-ly effects of a highly toxic snake bite.

What began as a routine late-night drive back from Dandeli ended in unimagi nable tragedy - a sudden, helpless and horrifying se quence of events that has left Goa in shock. Dr Bhatikar, 41, died in the early hours of Friday after he was bitten by a snake near the Karnata ka check-post at Anmod Ghat. Despite frantic ef forts by his friend Sushant Kavlekar to save him, the absence of immediate...