Truck runs over homeless men sleeping on central verge of northeast Delhi road

Deputy police commissioner (northeast) Joy Tirkey said that the five injured men were rushed to a hospital, where three of them were declared dead

At least three homeless people were killed and two others injured after a truck ran over them while they were sleeping on the central verge of a road at Tarbuz Market near Shastri Park Metro station in northeast Delhi in the early hours of Monday, police said. The driver of the truck fled, leaving behind the vehicle

Representative photo

Deputy police commissioner (northeast) Joy Tirkey said that the dead homeless were yet to be established. He added the injured men were identified as Mohammad Mushtaq, 35, a resident of Shastri Park, and Kamlesh,36, (single name), who is from Gandhi Nagar.

Tirkey said that police were informed about the accident at 5 am and that a team was rushed there. He added the truck was coming from the Seelampur side when it veered and ran over people sleeping on the verge. “The injured were taken to Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital, where three of them were declared dead. Their identities are being established. The other two injured men are undergoing treatment. The truck driver, whose identity is also unknown, is absconding,” said Tirkey.

An investigator said whether the driver of the truck was drunk or dozed off while driving would be established only when he is caught and interrogated. “A mechanical inspection of the truck will also be done to ascertain if any fault in brakes or its steering system led to the mishap,” said the investigator.