2 news channel staffers die as van hits bike on elevated road

NOIDA: Two men working with a private Hindi news channel died after the bike they were riding was hit by a pick-up van from behind on the elevated road near Iskcon temple on Sunday morning.
Police said Manoj Kumar (45), a journalist with News 24, and Gaurav Singh (38), who was responsible for maintaining archives in the library, were returning to their Ghaziabad home after a night shift in office when the accident occurred around 7.45am.
The van, police said, was on its way to deliver Mother Dairy products in various outlets and was speeding to meet the morning schedule.
Additional DCP Shakti Mohan Avasthy said they received a call about the accident from a passerby.
"A police team was rushed to the spot. Both the riders were grievously injured and were taken to Kailash hospital. They died during treatment," he added.
Police are trying to find out who was driving the bike. A broken helmet was found near the accident spot, suggesting that one of the riders was without the safety headgear.
"The van hit the bike with such force that it skidded for almost 50 metres before crashing against the wall of the elevated road. The van driver fled the spot, leaving the vehicle behind. It was delivering Mother Dairy milk. We have formed teams to trace the driver. He will be arrested soon," Avasthy said.
The bodies were sent for an autopsy and the reports were awaited. The police are waiting for the families to lodge a complaint to register the case.
A traffic police inspector said though there was a speed limit of 60kmph on the elevated road, vehicles were often found cruising at even 100kmph.
What has made the police's job difficult is the lack of cameras on the 4.6km stretch. There is only one camera on the entire elevated road - at the spot overlooking the Iskcon temple. It is connected to the ITMS command centre, the traffic control unit.
Since there are no cameras at the entry and exit points of the elevated road, drivers freely step on the accelerator, slowing down near the Iskcon temple and gaining speed again. At times, cops are deployed on the stretch to issue challans for speeding, but that has hardly succeeded in curbing the menace.
Till April this year, Noida registered 363 road accidents. There were 128 fatalities and 289 injuries.