Civil Services aspirant dies in campus accident

Two men, including a 30-year-old civil services aspirant, were mowed down by a speeding truck in north campus early on Thursday morning, police said.

Two men, including a 30-year-old civil services aspirant, were mowed down by a speeding truck in north campus early on Thursday morning, police said.

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Vishal Gupta, a paying guest at Mukherjee Nagar and autorickshaw driver Vijay Verma, 45, were en route to the Sarai Rohilla railway station when the accident occurred at a traffic signal near Khalsa College around 5:10 am.

“The autorickshaw had just reached the traffic signal and was taking a right turn on Mall Road when a speeding Tata Tempo, which was coming from Civil Lines towards Kingsway camp, collided with them,” said Sindhu Pillai, DCP (north).

Police said investigation revealed that the autorickshaw driver had jumped the traffic signal and failed to dodge the truck due to this. Verma was a resident of Wazriabad village.

Gupta, who had cleared his preliminary UPSC examinations and was to sit for his mains later this year, was supposed to receive his brother, who had just arrived from a pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi.

“Verma, anticipating thin traffic, decided to jump the said traffic signal while taking a right turn on the Mall Road. As a result, the truck collided with the autorickshaw and the impact was strong enough to send it crashing metres away, rotating as it did so,” said an officer investigating the case.

A passerby informed the local police about the accident which despatched a team to the spot. Both Vishal and Vijay were rushed to the Sushruta Trauma Center where they were declared dead by doctors.

“The tempo driver, identified as Rahim, 35, has been arrested and booked for rash driving in addition to causing death due to negligence. The errant vehicle has been impounded,” DCP Pillai added.