Ragpicker crushed by excavator in Delhi’s Ranhola, driver nabbed

Police said the excavator driver tried to get rid of the body by stuffing it in a sack and attempting to bury it in the same plot of land where it was working, police said

An excavator driver accidentally ran over and killed a 45-year-old man picking garbage in outer Delhi’s Ranhola on Thursday morning, and tried to get rid of the body by stuffing it in a sack and attempting to bury it in the same plot of land, police said.

Ragpicker crushed by excavator in Delhi’s Ranhola, driver nabbed

However, before he could bury the body, some children in the neighbourhood caught the man in the act, following which he was tied up to a tree, thrashed by the public and handed over to the police.

Sunny Kumar, the alleged errant driver in his early 20s, was arrested and booked for causing death due to negligence and destruction of evidence, said the police.

Police identified the victim as Pappu Singh, who lived in a jhuggi near the accident site with his brother and sister-in-law. His wife and three children live with his parents in his village in Bihar’s Patna, while he earned his living by picking garbage.

The area where the accident took place is a large private plot often used for dumping waste. “On Thursday morning, the excavator driver was hired by the plot owner to clear the waste. The victim happened to be picking waste from the same garbage site when the excavator landed there around 8.30am,” said deputy commissioner of police (outer) Harendra Singh.

On realising that the victim died, Kumar allegedly decided to get rid of the body, said the police. He allegedly first hid the body away from plain sight and then used the excavator to dig a pit large enough to accommodate the body, and then found a plastic sack.

“He stuffed the body in the sack and was about to bury it when some children saw what he was doing. They raised an alarm upon which locals gathered and got hold of Kumar,” said another police officer.

The public then tied up and beat up the suspect even as the police were alerted at 9.06am.

The police subsequently sent forensic and crime teams to the spot and sent the body to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for autopsy. Kumar, a resident of Mahavir Enclave who belongs to Bhopal, was arrested.