DJB crane kills man

Crane falls on 3 cars, crushes call centre employee.

A 30-year-old call-centre employee was crushed when a crane toppled and fell on three cars near Rajouri Garden flyover in west Delhi where Delhi Jal Board (DJB) work was in progress early Sunday morning.

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The victim, Abhinav Puri, was returning to his Tilak Nagar residence from his office in Gurgaon when the crane toppled and some parts of it fell on his Alto car as well as two other four-wheelers.

Puri was crushed under its weight and trapped inside. His vehicle was between two other cars. Puri returned to India two years ago after studying in Australia. His father T.R. Puri died a few years back. Abhinav was unmarried and living

with his mother.

A local resident called the police and the fire brigade.

Gas cutters were used to pull out Puri from the car. He was rushed to Deen Dayal Upadhayay hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

“His body has been sent for post mortem,” said a senior police officer on the condition of anonymity, as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

He added that the crane driver was able to jump off the vehicle while it was toppling.

Construction was going on near the flyover and the JCB crane belonged to the contractor employed by DJB for excavation work in the area.

Prima facie, police said, it looks like the crane toppled because of excess weight.

A case of causing death due to negligence and act endangering life or personal safety of others has been registered.

The crane operator abandoned the crane and fled after the accident. The contractor is also being questioned. The police said that a search is on to nab the errant driver.

“We have blacklisted the contractor till the inquiry is over. After the inquiry, we will be able to pin down the culprit behind the incident,” said Ramesh Negi, Chief Executive Officer, Delhi Jal Board.