Delhi: Head constable crushed to death by truck

A 49-year-old Delhi Police head constable was crushed to death by a speeding truck in North Delhi’s Timarpur area early on Friday.

A 49-year-old Delhi Police head constable was crushed to death by a speeding truck in North Delhi’s Timarpur area early on Friday.

Head constable Abdul Sabbar was checking vehicles at a barricaded check post near Gopalpur on the Outer Ring Road around 1:30 am when he was run over. The truck driver, Dhir Singh, was arrested within three hours from Tikri, Malviya Nagar. A case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder was registered against him.

According to the police, Sabbar flagged down the Tata 407 truck after he saw the driver jump the traffic signal. The driver slowed down but did not stop. He went past three barricades arranged in a zig zag manner in a bid to escape.

“He suddenly accelerated, first crushing Sabbar between his vehicle and the barricade and then under the wheels. The staff posted at the picket chased him on their motorcycles but Singh escaped. After covering around two kilometres, Singh got down from the truck. Our team seized the truck from the spot,” a senior police officer said.

A passerby, Dheeraj Tyagi, who was on his way home after his night shift helped the police track the truck to Majnu Ka Tila where it was found abandoned.

“Our teams recorded the chassis number and traced the owner through the registration number. After we got details of the driver, he was arrested from Tikri later in the day. We registered a case under sections of culpable homicide and not rash and negligent driving as the driver intentionally crushed the cop to escape,” a police officer said.

Investigators said Singh did not have documents. He feared the cops would seize the truck and fine him. “He said he did not intend to crush the cop and just wanted to escape. He tried to mislead the investigators by saying he was sleepy and crushed the cop accidentally and he did not see him standing in front of the truck, ”police said.