Truck mows down 4 migrant workers
Were sleeping on roadside near Asauda toll plaza on KMP Expressway
GURUGRAM/ROHTAK: At least four migrant workers were killed and 12 others injured after a speeding truck ran over them while they were sleeping on the roadside near Asauda toll plaza on KMP Expressway in Jhajjar on Thursday, police said, adding the driver of the truck was yet to be arrested.
Police said that the incident took place around 5.20am. The 22-wheeler truck, bearing a registration number from Rajasthan, was loaded with coal dust and travelling from Gujarat to Uttar Pradesh via the expressway, according to the police.
Investigators said that the workers were engaged in road repairing work at the spot, which is around 45km from Gurugram.
They went to sleep on the expressway on Wednesday night around heavy construction equipment such as generator sets. Police said the workers had created a diversion around the area by barricading it and fixed reflector tapes around it, but the truck kept moving straight ahead instead of driving into another lane and toppled after mowing down the workers.
Police suspect that the driver might have fallen asleep at the wheel resulting in the accident.
Police said that of the 18 workers sleeping at the spot, only two — Kishan Pal (26) and Ramu(24) — escaped unhurt.
Inspector Jasveer Sangwan, station house officer of Asauda police station, identified the deceased persons as Sushil Singh (25), Kanti Swaroop Pal (24), Monu Singh (22) of Italee village and Neeraj Kumar (20) of Danti village, all from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
“Sushil, Kanti and Monu were killed immediately, while Neeraj died during treatment at PGIMS, Rohtak, in the afternoon,” he said.
Sangwan said that the rest of the injured workers were being treated at the same hospital.
Waseem Akram, Jhajjar superintendent of police, said that after a preliminary investigation, police found that a traffic police team, as well as an emergency response vehicle, had cautioned those supervising the workers to avoid construction at night time and also not to sleep around the spot.
“A Bihar-based private agency had engaged the daily wagers to repair the road at the spot,” Akram said.
He said that police were investigating the matter and would ensure that the agency takes responsibility for not taking proper safety measures and putting the workers in harm’s way.