Traffic cop crushed under speeding truck on RTR Marg, driver nabbed

ACCIDENT Driver was trying to escape after it was signalled to stop for check

NEW DELHI : A 48-year-old traffic policeman was killed on Tuesday morning when a speeding truck hit him and dragged him for about half a kilometre after he tried to stop it for routine check near Rao Tula Ram (RTR) Marg in southwest Delhi.

The truck driver, who attempted to flee from the accident spot, was caught by traffic policemen near Mahipalpur after a three-kilometre chase.

According to senior officers, the accident took place at 7.41 am when assistant sub-inspector Jitender Singh was on vehicle inspection duty on Sanjay T-point, near airport. Singh was accompanied by constables.

“Witnesses told us that it was at 7.41am that Singh spotted a truck coming from Dhaula Kuan. The ASI flagged the truck driver to slow down for checking. As the truck slowed down and Singh went near the vehicle, the driver suddenly accelerated. The truck hit Singh and he got stuck under the heavy vehicle. The truck dragged Singh for over 400 metres before he could unhook himself,” said an officer, requesting anonymity, since he not authorised to speak to the media.

The deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Debender Arya said the driver managed to flee from the spot leaving Singh behind. Singh’s colleagues alerted the nearby police on radio about the errant truck’s registration number (Dl-1 L X – 3092) and also started chasing the truck. The truck was traced and intercepted near Mahipalpur by constable Pawan Kumar who was on duty with Singh. Kumar stopped a taxi and chased the truck. Personnel from Delhi Cantonment traffic circle also helped their counterparts. The driver, Mohammad Ashfaq, 23, a resident of Dayalpur in Nuh, Haryana, was arrested,” Arya said.

Meanwhile, two of the three constables assisting Singh rushed him to the Indian Spinal Injury Hospital in Vasant Kunj, where the officer succumbed to his injuries. His body was sent for a postmortem examination and family members were informed.

Singh, a native of village Sabga in Baghpat, UP, is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son,