Drunk cop runs over 58-year-old in police van in Bhikaji Cama Place, Delhi

The police vehicle belongs to a station house officer who was allegedly not inside it at the time, said police

A 58-year-old man was killed by a speeding Delhi police vehicle being driven by a drunk police constable on a joyride with his friends, in Bhikaji Cama Place, south-west Delhi, early Monday morning, police said. The constable, who fled the scene after the accident, has been arrested, police added.

Rajesh Gupta, a contractor who outsourced waiters and housekeeping staff to hotels across the city. (HT Photo)

The deceased was identified as Rajesh Gupta, a contractor who outsourced waiters and housekeeping staff to hotels across the city. He was returning home from the Leela Palace in Chanakyapuri, where he works, and was waiting for a cab outside the Bhikaji Cama Place Metro station at 3.20 am when the accident took place.

According to eyewitnesses, the speeding police vehicle hit a grill fence outside the Metro station and then Gupta, who was crossing the road, before overturning and crashing into the divider. “We received a police control room call at 3.27 am at Sarojini Nagar police station from a passerby about the accident. A team rushed to the spot and found the deceased man and the damaged police vehicle nearby. The police vehicle was being driven by constable Pardeep Kumar, who is posted at the Rajender Nagar police station. He was arrested. We found he was speeding at the time of the incident. We registered a first information report and called the forensic science lab team and crime team,” said deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Rohit Meena.

According to police, Kumar was not at the accident site when police teams arrived. He was arrested from near the Metro station, said investigators.

Kumar has been booked in a case of rash driving and causing death by negligence. DCP Meena said that Kumar was driving under the influence of alcohol. His medical report shows his blood alcohol content (BAC) was 60, above the permissible limit, said DCP Meena. A senior police officer said that Kumar has been suspended from duty and an inquiry has been initiated against him.

Constable took SHO’s police vehicle without permission: Police

According to police, the police vehicle was assigned to Prabhu Dayal, station house officer of the Rajender Nagar police station in central Delhi. However, Dayal was not inside the vehicle when the accident took place.

“At first glance…it seems Kumar took the SHO’s vehicle without the officer’s knowledge. He was driving around Sarojini Nagar with two of his college friends who were not policemen. They were going to Hauz Khas. After the accident, they returned to their homes. Kumar was arrested in time...” said an officer on condition of anonymity. Police said they would question Kumar’s friends as well. DCP Meena said Kumar was not in uniform at the time and had picked up his friends and consumed alcohol in Rajinder Nagar.

Dayal told HT, “I can’t talk much about the case. I was not inside the police vehicle. I told the investigator that a constable took my vehicle at night without my knowledge. I was not aware of his whereabouts and the accident.”

Not told about death till 9 am: Family

Gupta is survived by his wife Madhuri, 55, and their three children, Sonia, 25, Shivani, 24, and Akki, 21. The family lives in Trilokpuri.

Shivani said that the police called her at 6am in the morning. “I was kept waiting at the Sarojini Nagar police stationfor two hours. I was told my father was hurt in an accident. It was later around 9am that a senior officer told me that my father was dead.”

Responding to the allegations of delay, DCP Meena said, “We don’t think there was a delay. The deceased man’s children were called to the police station. We didn’t want to shock them with the news while they were on their way. So we called them and sat them down. They were then told about the death...There was no mala fide intention. The accused constable has already been caught.”