Police van carrying inmates overturns in Faridabad, 7 injured

The accident that took place five kilometres from Delhi led to a nearly two-hour-long snarl that stretched from Badhkal Flyover in Faridabad to Delhi’s Badarpur, Sube Singh, spokesperson of Faridabad police

A prison van ferrying two inmates and six police personnel hit a road divider and overturned, leaving seven--all the police officers and one prisoner--injured on Delhi-Mathura highway near Badarpur border in Faridabad around 1pm on Thursday, police said.

The driver of the prison van, identified as Ashok (age unknown), said he was trying to overtake a vehicle. When he turned the steering wheel to the right, it got locked, leading to the van ramming the divider and overturning. (HT Photo)

The accident that took place five kilometres from Delhi led to a nearly two-hour-long snarl that stretched from Badhkal Flyover in Faridabad to Delhi’s Badarpur, Sube Singh, spokesperson of Faridabad police, said, adding police had to divert vehicles travelling towards the flyover to the service lane below.

The driver of the prison van, identified as Ashok (age unknown), said he was trying to overtake a vehicle. When he turned the steering wheel to the right, it got locked, leading to the van ramming the divider and overturning.

Singh said police received information within a few minutes of the accident and a team rushed to the spot. “The accident took place after the van crossed the Badhkal flyover. Due to some technical fault with the steering wheel of the vehicle stopped working and the van rammed the divider,” he said.

The van was ferrying the prisoners from Aligarh prison in Uttar Pradesh to Delhi’s Saket Court. They were to be produced before the court on Thursday, said police. The inmates were identified as Pradeep Singh(32), a resident of Jutoli village in Etah and Pradeep Kumar (34), a resident of Ramnagar in UP. They were arrested in connection with dacoity and loot cases and in 2018, were involved in a robbery and dacoity in Badarpur area. Apart from this, many cases have been registered against them in UP and Delhi, police said. It was unclear which of them was unhurt in the accident.

Krishnaveer, sub-inspector of UP Police who was in the van when the accident took place, said that all the weapons of the police team aboard the van were safe. “The door of the van was locked from inside and was intact even after the accident. The inmates did not get a chance to escape,” he said.

Police said despite their injuries, the team kept both the men under their supervision. Ashok, the driver, opened the doors of the van from outside and helped get everyone out after Faridabad police reached the spot. Police lifted the with the help of a crane and took it to the Sector 28 police post.

According to Singh, commuters who stopped to record videos and pictures were responsible for the traffic congestion on the Delhi-Mathura highway. He said police struggled from 1.20pm to 3pm to clear the jam.

Kamlesh Kumar, a factory worker who was on his way to Delhi, said that he was also crossing the flyover when the accident took place. “Within minutes vehicles had started piling up on the stretch and people got down from their cars and parked their two-wheelers and started recording videos. It was after the police team reached that the injured were taken out of the vehicle. The inmates were handcuffed,” he said.

A witness said the accident occurred after bus driver tried to overtake a vehicle on the road. “It took more than an hour to cross the stretch and reach Delhi after the accident. Two cars that were behind the van had a narrow escape as they applied brakes in time,” he said.

Police said they are investigating the exact reason of the accident and a technical person will examine the vehicle on Friday.

Singh said the injured people were taken to BK Hospital and are undergoing treatment. The inmates were handed over to the UP police team who reached Faridabad late afternoon. “Faridabad police coordinated with UP police and a team was deployed in the hospital to ensure the inmates were under surveillance,” he said.