Berhampur: Police have intensified efforts to trace an excavator driver who allegedly drove away with the machine from a village in Ganjam district and led police on a dramatic 70-80 km chase before abandoning the vehicle and fleeing through paddy fields. A video of the unusual pursuit went viral on social media on Monday.“The accused was the excavator’s driver. We have identified him and are searching for him,” said Ramesh Chandra Pradhan, IIC of Khallikote police station, on Tuesday. Police suspect the vehicle was taken with the intention of theft.According to police, the excavator, fitted with a digging attachment, was parked near a crusher unit at Laxminarayanpur village under Khallikote police limits. Around midnight on Friday, the driver allegedly took the vehicle away without informing its owner.When the owner found the excavator missing, he immediately alerted police. A team from Khallikote police launched a chase but failed to intercept the vehicle and alerted neighbouring police stations in Rambha, Purushottampur and Kabisuryanagar. “To our surprise, the accused drove the excavator for nearly 70-80 km through the night, repeatedly evading road blockades,” Pradhan said.The chase ended in the early hours of Saturday when the driver abandoned the excavator on a narrow road near Gudiali village under Kabisuryanagar police limits. He then escaped through nearby paddy fields.Despite pursuing him, police could not catch the suspect because of the muddy terrain. The excavator was later recovered and returned to its owner, Bhikari Pandi, police said.A case was registered on Saturday on the basis of the owner’s complaint, and efforts are on to arrest the accused. Police said the exact motive behind the incident would become clear only after the suspect is nabbed.