Driver, constable of ARTO squad run over by truck in Sultanpur
Police officials said that after mowing down the driver of ARTO and a constable of his checking squad, the truck rammed into the official jeep in which the ARTO himself escaped narrowly.
Two members of the assistant regional transport officer (ARTO)enforcement squad were run over by a truck, trying to evade checking, early on Tuesday morning. The incident took place on the Lucknow-Ballia highway in Uttar Pradesh’s Sultanpur district, 140 kilometres south east from Lucknow.
Police officials said that after mowing down the driver of ARTO and a constable of his checking squad, the truck rammed into the official jeep in which the ARTO himself escaped narrowly. They said the truck driver fled the spot leaving the vehicle on the spot after the incident and efforts were on to trace him after registering the case on the complaint of another ARTO.
In the past eight days, this is the third such incident across the country with similar incidents of mowing down government officers and personnel being reported from Haryana and Jharkhand.
The deceased were identified as one Abdul Mobeen, a contractual driver of ARTO team, and constable Arun Singh. The incident took place when ARTO, enforcement, Rakesh Kumar Verma was carrying out checking near Madhavpur Chatauna village under the Gosaiganj police station limits of Sultanpur district at around 4 am on Tuesday. A truck coming from Kadipur, Sultanpur road accelerated when the ARTO squad signalled the truck driver to stop and crushed Abdul Moeen and Arun Singh while trying to escape.
Before the ARTO could call the local police, the truck driver left the vehicle on the spot and disappeared in the bushes, taking advantage of darkness. He said the deceased driver was resident of Shashtri Nagar locality of Sultanpur while the constable was resident of Bakshi Ka Talab area of Lucknow. Their families have been informed about the incident.
Sultanpur superintendent of police (SP) Somen Barma along with other police officers reached the spot to examine the situation and launched a search operation to trace the driver. He said the culprit will not be spared and strictest action will be taken against him. He said the truck has been seized and its technical examination has been done and efforts are to trace the truck owner and ascertain the identity of the truck driver.
On last Tuesday (July 19), a deputy superintendent of police of Haryana, Surendra Kumar Singh was mowed down by a speeding dumper of the mining mafia in Nuh district of Haryana in a bid to evade police checking. Similarly, a woman sub-inspector Sandhya Topno of Jharkhand police was mowed down by a pick-up vehicle of cattle smugglers when she tried to intercept it in Ranchi district, last Wednesday (July 20).
