Vaibhav Shandilya, 21, did not say anything about going to Mandarmani to his parents before leaving home on Saturday, his uncle said on Monday.

Vaibhav and his two friends, Shivraj Naskar and Suraj Dasgupta, died in a head-on collision between their Ford EcoSport and a BMW X3 on the long stretch of beach in Mandarmani early on Sunday.

"Never had he gone out of Calcutta without telling us. This whole trip is a shock," Vaibhav's uncle Pradeep Singh said. "He had said he was going for the birthday celebration of Suraj."

Vaibhav's parents and sister who live in the Hiland Woods housing complex in New Town expected him to return home late.

But they got a call from cops in Mandarmani in the morning, telling them about the fatal crash, Singh said.

The Ford EcoSport belonged to Vaibhav's family but Singh claimed officers of Contai police station had told him that his nephew was seated beside Suraj who was at the wheel.

Guards of Hiland Woods said Vaibhav and his sister, four years his junior, were often seen downing phuchkas opposite the complex.

One of the guards claimed Vaibhav had taken driving lessons from his grandfather, a retired police officer.

He started driving cars by himself only after his grandfather's death about a year ago, the guard said.

Relatives of Shivraj, the scion of the Naskar family of Beleghata, claimed Vaibhav had picked him up from home around 10pm on Saturday.

All three were former students of Calcutta International School.

Shivraj and Suraj had cleared their A-Level examination, equivalent to Class XII board exam, in 2014 and moved to the UK for higher studies.

Vaibhav cleared his A-Level examination last year.

Singh said his nephew Vaibhav, on a year's study break, had been taking entrance exams of various institutes.

"He was supposed to start an undergraduate course in journalism shortly," Singh said.

Family members reached the city with the bodies late on Sunday. Vaibhav was cremated on Monday morning and Suraj, an Ajaynagar resident, around 1pm.

At Naskar Villa, the 200-year-old mansion on Beleghata Main Road, Shivraj has been lying on a block of ice in his room since late on Sunday. His family is waiting for his brother, Shivendu Sekhar, who works in England.

Relatives of the Naskars said Shivraj's mother Aditi hadn't left his side.

"She is insisting that no one enters the room," one of his father's friends said. "Subhendu hasn't spoken a word. He just said they were waiting for their elder son, Bunty (Shivendu), to arrive."

He said Shivendu's flight had been delayed and he was expected to reach the city late on Monday.