Gurugram: Five killed, 10 injured in accident near KMP e-way; migrants among victims

Five persons, including a one-year-old boy, died while at least 10 others were injured after a mini-truck allegedly rammed two auto-rickshaws and hit several migrant

Five persons, including a one-year-old boy, died while at least 10 others were injured after a mini-truck allegedly rammed two auto-rickshaws and hit several migrant daily wagers, near the toll plaza on Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway near Panchgaon Flyover on Saturday night. The police said that several of the victims (both deceased and injured) were waiting at the toll plaza to commute to their respective hometowns in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana in the wake of the nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

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According to the police, the incident took place at 12.10am when several migrant daily wagers from the city had camped near the toll plaza after walking on foot for several miles to return to their hometowns. The police said a mini-truck with an Uttar Pradesh registration number, carrying tomatoes from Ahmedabad (Gujarat) to Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh), abruptly took a left turn after crossing the toll plaza and allegedly collided with two auto-rickshaws.

Kuldeep, 26, an eyewitness, who was standing on the road to Palwal and waiting for a commute to Bareilly, said that the mini truck rammed the auto-rickshaws before hitting several pedestrians. “The mini truck did not stop after the collision and continued to be driven negligently at high speed before it came to a halt after hitting a road divider,” he said.

Deepak Saharan, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Manesar, said that five persons— three men, a woman and a toddler—were killed and several injured persons were rushed to a hospital for treatment

“The driver of the mini-truck was arrested from the spot. At least three of the deceased persons have been identified,” the DCP said. The police said that during questioning the driver said that the brake pedals of his vehicle had stopped working, resulting in the collisions.

One of the deceased persons was identified as Karan Singh, an auto-rickshaw driver from Etah, Uttar Pradesh. A police officer privy to the investigation, requesting anonymity, said, that Singh was on the way back to his village since his income had dried up after the lockdown was announced. “He was sitting in his auto-rickshaw at the time of the incident and died on the spot,” the police officer said.

His body was handed over to his family after the postmortem examination on Sunday morning, the police said.

A case was registered against the driver under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304-A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code at Bilaspur police station on Sunday, the police said.