Traffic cop crushed under truck at Rajiv Chowk

A traffic police rider posted at Rajiv Chowk sustained serious injuries after he was allegedly crushed under a canter truck and dragged for at least 200 metres near the Rajiv Chowk flyover on Wednesday morning. The police said the constable was admitted to a private hospital in Sector 38 and his condition was reported to be critical.

According to the police, a canter truck carrying vegetables, which was coming from Delhi, allegedly crashed into a truck coming from the direction of Sohna at the intersection. After the collision, the canter truck lost its balance and hit the victim, who was standing next to the motorcycle and a PCR van, with a colleague. The police said the lower part of the victim’s body was completely crushed and he sustained injuries on the torso, stomach and legs.

The police said the incident took place between 1am and 1.30am when the victim, Jagvir, an ex-serviceman, who is a traffic constable with the city police, was deputed on highway traffic duty with another constable, Dharmbir. Dharmbir had a narrow escape as he jumped into the police car to escape the falling canter truck.

Dharmbir said, “We had the night shift from 8pm to 8am on the highway at Rajiv Chowk. Around 1.15am, our senior traffic inspector had come to the spot for a routine check, following which we were waiting near our motorcycle. Suddenly, we noticed a canter truck speeding towards the junction from the direction of Delhi. At the same time, a truck was coming from the direction of Sohna. The canter truck hit the truck on the side and skidded towards us.”

He said the canter truck had lost balance as it was heavily loaded and he quickly evaded its path and jumped into a parked police car. “The canter truck hit Jagvir and he was crushed underneath one of the rear tyres. With the help of a few policemen, we pulled him out and rushed him to a private hospital, where he is undergoing treatment,” said Dharmbir.

Ramniwas, assistant sub inspector (ASI), Sadar police station, said both the canter truck driver and truck driver abandoned their vehicles and fled from the spot.

“The drivers are yet to be traced. The canter truck had a UP registration number, while the truck had a Rajasthan registration number. We are trying to trace them with the help of regional transport officials,” said the ASI.

A case was registered against the suspects under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 427 (mischief causing damage) of the Indian Penal Code at Sadar police station on Wednesday, the police said.

As per the accident data for the past three years (2016, 2017 and 2018), Rajiv Chowk features in the top five most severe black spots in the city. Thirteen fatal accidents and 15 deaths were reported at the junction during this period. According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), a 500-metre stretch is termed as a black spot when more than 10 fatalities have been reported from the spot in three calendar years, said officials of Haryana Vision Zero, a team of road safety experts selected by the Haryana government.

First Published: Jul 04, 2019 03:05 IST