Cop killed in Dwarka hit-and-run

NEW DELHI: A head constable of Delhi Police died after getting crushed under a barricade that was hit by a speeding sedan in Dwarka Sector 21 early on Tuesday. The errant driver, who was arrested later, was in an inebriated condition when he rammed his vehicle into the barricade of the picket where the policeman was deployed.

DCP (Dwarka) Anto Alphonse said that the victim has been identified as head constable Guljari Lal (52). A case has been registered against the car driver, Nagesh Kapoor (24).

Police said two pickets had been set up at the mouth of the underpass connecting Dwarka and Mahipalpur. Two head constables were deployed on each side of the road to check for suspicious vehicles entering or leaving the sub-city.

At 1am, the teams noticed a car coming at a high speed. When the policemen signalled the driver to stop, they realised that he wasn’t slowing down. When the accused eventually tried to apply the brakes, the speed of the car was such that it rammed the barricade. The impact of the collision was such that the bulky iron barricade was thrown in the air and it fell on Lal.

Even as three other cops deployed there were trying to remove Lal from under the barricade, the driver sped away. Nearby units were alerted about the accident and Lal was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

Subsequently, a team led by ACP (Dwarka) Rajinder Singh was constituted to investigate the case. A forensics team visited the spot and found tyre marks and some broken parts of the car. These were used to identify the vehicle. Multiple units zeroed in on Kapoor, who was traced to southwest Delhi’s Pochanpur village.

Investigating officers said they have taken a blood sample of the accused to ascertain the amount of alcohol level. Kapoor is a native of Saharanpur and is currently living with his wife on rent in Pochanpur. He is an MBA and works with the accounts section of a superbike manufacturing company.