Delhi Police PCR van ‘accidentally’ accelerates, kills man; constable arrested

Police said driver of the PCR van accidentally pressed the accelerator, due to which the vehicle, while climbing the roadside ramp, ran over a person, who died.

A PCR van of Delhi Police ran over a person in the Thana Mandir Marg area after the driver accidentally pressed the accelerator, officials said on Thursday morning.

The accident took place in the Thana Mandir Marg area of Delhi, police said on Thursday (Representative file image via X/@ANI)

Driver of the PCR van, identified as constable Khimesh Singh, has been arrested by Police, news agency ANI quoted Delhi Police as saying.

The driver of the PCR van accidentally pressed the accelerator, due to which the vehicle, while climbing the roadside ramp, ran over a person, who died, Delhi Police said.

Two police officers, an ASI and the constable, were suspended over the incident, Delhi Police said, adding that an FIR was being filed. A medical examination of both police personnel will be conducted, police said.

Son of the deceased claimed that the occupants of the PCR van were highly intoxicated, adding that there was a woman in the vehicle. "There were two people in the PCR Van, including a woman. They were highly intoxicated. My father's name is Gangaram Tiwari; he was around 50-55 years old. There were bottles of liquor in the car. My father had a shop here for the last 10 years," he said.

Hukma Ram, additional DCP New Delhi, said the deceased's kin will be provided compensation.

"An unfortunate accident took place here. The police are taking action as per the law. We will provide all possible help to the deceased, and compensation will be provided. We will check CCTVs..." DCP Hukma Ram said while speaking to reporters.

Further investigation is underway.

This incident comes close on the heels of another accident in the city that been hitting headlines – the BMW crash case in which a speeding SUV hit a two-wheeler on Sunday, leaving a finance ministry official dead.

A woman, who was driving the BMW that killed the senior finance ministry official, was arrested by the Delhi Police.

Navjot Singh (52), a deputy secretary in the department of economic affairs of the finance ministry, was killed on Sunday afternoon when his motorcycle was hit by the BMW car while he was returning from the Bangla Sahib Gurdwara with his wife, Sandeep Kaur. While Singh died, his wife was seriously injured in the incident.

A case has been registered under sections 281 (rash driving), 125B (endangering life or personal safety of others), 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The woman arrested for driving the BMW along with her husband failed to inform police while taking the victims to a distant hospital, prompting investigators to add charges of culpable homicide and evidence tampering against the duo, police said on Tuesday.

Police said they added sections relating to culpable homicide not amounting to murder and causing disappearance of evidence as the accused and her husband decided to take Singh and his wife, Sandeep Kaur, to a hospital more than 19 km away from Dhaula Kuan, where the incident took place.

(with PTI inputs)