Four run over by truck in Shahdara

Four people were killed early on Wednesday when they were hit by a speeding truck while they were sleeping on a road divider in Shahdara’s Seemapuri, according to the Delhi Police

Four people were killed early on Wednesday when they were hit by a speeding truck while they were sleeping on a road divider in Shahdara’s Seemapuri, according to the Delhi Police.

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Two others sustained minor injuries and the police have launched a hunt for the drive after identifying the truck, investigators said. Those killed and injured in the incident were not homeless and were sleeping on the street because of a lack of space in their house, a family member of one of those dead said, adding that they were all waste pickers.

Deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) R Sathiyasundaram said the information regarding accident was received at 1.51am. A police team reached the spot near the Delhi Transport Corporation depot traffic signal in the area, and found that two people had died in the incident.

“Police Control Room vans and two private vehicles rushed all the six people to a hospital. While two were dead on the spot, two were critical and two were out of danger. One of the injured was declared dead on arrival at the hospital, while one died during treatment. The two remaining injured were stable and one of them has been discharged,” Sathiyasundaram said.

Three of the six people lived in a slum cluster near the divider, the police said. CCTV footage recovered from the area showed the truck crossing the DTC depot and taking a sharp right turn before hitting the divider, according to the police.

A senior police officer, who asked not to be named, said that due to a registration plate-reading camera installed in the area, they were able to identify the number of the truck. “There are 14 number plate reader cameras covering the entire stretch from Apsara border till DLF. The borders are entirely covered. With the help of registration number, the owner of the truck and the company has been identified. Details of the driver have also been furnished. Teams are working round the clock to nab him,” the officer said.

Manish, who suffered a fracture in his right hand, said: “The truck came from the side of Dilshad Garden and was on the way towards Tahirpur. I was sleeping first on the divider and a little away from the rest of them. The truck hit my hand and then the tyre got on to the divider running them all over. I fell on the side,” he said.

Sathiyasundaram identified the deceased as Kareem Khan, 52, Shah Alam, 38, Chhote Khan, 25, all residents of New Seemapuri, and Rahul, 26, resident of Shalimar Garden – opposite New Seemapuri. The injured have been identified as Manish, 16, resident of Tulsi Niketan in Sahibabad, and Pradeep, 30, resident of Tahirpur.

Residents of the area said that Kareem and Chhote Khan died on the spot, while Shah Alam was still breathing when the police arrived. “PCR vans took those who were alive first in the hope they could be saved but Rahul was declared dead in the hospital and Shah Alam died a while later,” said a local, Kareemullah Khan.

Waiting for Shah Alam’s body at a mortuary, his daughter-in-law Sabera, 27, said that they were a total of 12 family members and lived in two separate houses. Shah Alam used to live with his wife and four others in one of the houses, she said. “There is no space in the house and he used to mostly sleep outside. There is a public toilet right here and he used to often sleep outside the toilet. On Tuesday night, there was no space inside the house, the weather was good and windy so he went to sleep on the divider right opposite the house,” she said.