60-yr-old crushed to death as oil tanker overturns in Ludhiana

The oil in the tanker spilled on the road making it risky for other commuters to travel through the area. Many commuters on two-wheelers, passing through the stretch, had a narrow escape after they slipped on the road and sustained minor injuries. Later, the police spread soil on the road

A 60-year-old man was crushed to death after a tanker carrying refined oil overturned on road diversion near Chand Cinema in the wee hours on Friday.

A tanker containing refined oil turned over near Chand Cinema at wee hours in Ludhiana on Friday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

The victim, identified as Gulshan Kumar of Salem Tabri, was going to a temple to pay obeisance.

The oil in the tanker spilled on the road making it risky for other commuters to travel through the area. Many commuters on two-wheelers, passing through the stretch, had a narrow escape after they slipped on the road and sustained minor injuries. Later, the police spread soil on the road.

The Daresi police arrested the accused driver of the tanker, identified as Devdas of Rajasthan.

Inspector Balwinder Singh, SHO at Daresi police station, said that the incident occurred when the tanker, heading towards the city from Jalandhar Bypass, took a turn on the diverted road at 4.30 am. Due to the sharp turn, the driver lost control over the vehicle, and it overturned on the road, crushing the elderly man.

The inspector said that a case under sections 304A (causing death due to negligence) and 279 (reckless driving) of the IPC has been registered against the accused at Daresi Police Station.

The SHO said that the tanker driver was not speeding. He was driving the vehicle at low speed but due to a shift of load in the tanker, the driver lost balance of the vehicle and it overturned.

Kumar Gaurav, an activist, blamed the municipal corporation for the mishap. He reached the Daresi police station to register his protest. He stated that the bridge on the stretch has been closed for traffic for the past 12 years. Instead of repairing the bridge, the authorities have diverted the traffic on a side road with a sharp slope due to which road mishaps happen daily.