Labourer crushed by crane in sleep in Delhi

NEW DELHI: A 30-year-old construction labourer was killed after being mowed down by a crane in outer Delhi’s Alipur on Sunday morning. The victim was sleeping close to a construction site when the errant driver ran the crane over his head.
Police are looking for the accused driver who fled from the scene after the incident.
The deceased has been identified as Manoj Saini. According to the cops, a PCR call was received around 7.45am informing them about a man who had been mowed down by a crane. “Other labourers and the contractor present at the site said Saini was sleeping on the roadside close to the construction area. Around 2am, a crane came to deliver construction pipes and since it was dark, the driver wasn’t able to spot Saini and crushed his head,” said a senior police officer.
The other labourers noticed Saini lying in a pool of blood around 3.30am. He was dead by then. The labourers called their contractor from Narela and informed Saini’s family members, a police officer said.
The driver of the crane, who had fled from the spot, was later identified as Inder Kumar. Cops are yet to arrest the accused.
Deputy commissioner of police (Outer North) Gaurav Sharma said a case under appropriate sections of the Indian Penal Code has been registered. “The crane has been seized and search for the driver is on,” he added.
Sharma said Saini’s body was sent for postmortem exam, following which it was handed over to his family members.
In the past week, seven people have lost their lives in three different accidents involving heavy vehicles. Meanwhile, the driver of the tractor, who was involved in the death of three people in west Delhi’s Moti Nagar on Sunday, is yet to be arrested.
Cops tracked the owner of the tractor who initially misguided them. “We traced the owner to Rohtak in Haryana who misguided us about the errant driver and a team was sent to Meerut. Later, he changed his statement and told us about another place. We will soon nab the accused,” said a senior police officer.