Police said the young man identified as Chandan Kumar of Chandi Bazar area in the district accompanied by a friend took his vehicle to wash in the river.
Kumar took the route of a diversion on which plying of vehicles is not allowed, and drove the car a little into the river, currently in spate, for easy access to water. He was washed away while washing the car, an official at the Chandi police station said.
The official said the current in the river was so swift that nobody dared to venture into it to save Kumar, who was tossed up and down by the waves. His friend, identified as Ramashish, also could not do anything.