2 sub-inspectors from Haryana killed in accident in Ghaziabad

GHAZIABAD: Two Haryana police sub-inspectors posted in Palwal district died in a road accident on Eastern Peripheral Expressway near Duhai on Monday afternoon. The accident took place around 2 pm when the two policemen, travelling in a Swift car, rammed their vehicle into a stationary truck parked on the side of the carriageway. Both of them died on the spot.
The two have been identified as Virendra Kumar (49) and Rajendra Singh Dagar (51). According to their colleagues, the duo had recently been promoted to the rank of sub-inspector and were undergoing training at Haryana Police Academy in Karnal for the past two-and-a-half months. On Monday, they were returning to Palwal on a holiday.

Prior to their promotion, Kumar was the incharge of Asaoti police post while Dagar was posted at Palwal police chowki.

Sub-inspector, Muradnagar, Bhupendra Singh said, “The bodies have been kept at a government hospital in Sanjay Nagar and will be handed over to their families after post-mortem. An FIR will be registered against the driver of the truck. It is not allowed to park vehicles on the sides of the main carriageway.”

Meanwhile, the National Highways Authority of India said it would write to the local police to ensure that no driver park his vehicle on the sides of the road.

“We do not have any challaning power. Quite often, the vehicle drivers pick up a fight with our staff whenever they ask them not to park vehicles on the main carriageway. A provision to impose fines on such vehicles could be looked into. There are six patrolling vehicles on the entire 135-km stretch,” said a senior NHAI official.

However, the official blamed speeding and falling asleep while driving as two main reasons for the accidents on the expressway. “Commuters tend to speed on the road finding it wide open. We are looking into ways to control this menace,” he added.

Several fatal accidents had taken place on the expressway since its inauguration on May 27 this year. On June 5, seven members of a family were killed after the driver of their pick-up van fell asleep and collided with a container.