‘Duty unto death’ fetched them laurels
The Delhi Police has decided to reward four Delhi Traffic Police constables who came within an inch of losing their lives to rash-driving vehicles violating the Games lane during the fortnight-long event.
The Delhi Police has decided to reward four Delhi Traffic Police constables who came within an inch of losing their lives to rash-driving vehicles violating the Games lane during the fortnight-long event.
“All four of them are 2010 recruits and this was their first posting. While one of them is an ex-Indian Army officer, two are highly qualified,” said Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (traffic).
Constable Lal Chand, an M.Sc in Physics from Kurukshetra University, was positioned to secure the blue lane near the Ghazipur flyover when a speeding Ambassador car ran over his right foot.
“The car had a blue beacon and was speeding along the road when it approached my position. The driver tried to enter the blue lane even as a bus carrying athletes had just passed. We had been instructed not to let any vehicle come onto the lane so I had no alternative but to jump in front of it,” he said. He was hospitalised for three days.
Constable Sujit Kumar, a retired hawaldar from the Indian Army was positioned at the Nizamuddin Bridge when a speeding car tried to violate the lane during athlete movement on October 6.
“It was a Santro car and was moving at high speed as it raced with a bus ferrying athletes. I just had to stop it, so I jumped onto its bonnet, forcing the driver to swerve sharply and exit the lane,” he said.
Kumer was rushed to the Trauma Centre at AIIMS and had to wear a plaster for nine days in order to heal three of his broken ribs.
“Constable Krishan Kumar and Vijay Pal, who holds a B.Ed degree, were injured in a similar manner while trying to secure the Games lane at Sarai Kale Khan on October 10 and Ghazipur on October 13 respectively,” said a senior Delhi
Police officer.
The four injured constables would be given a cash reward of R5,000 to start with.
“We have also recommended their names for higher honour to the police commissioner and hope that they stay with us for longer,” said Garg.