Drunk policeman mows down toddler, locals allege it was deliberate act

A Delhi Police constable in an inebriated condition ran over a 10-month-old boy and his grandmother in east Delhi’s Mandawali late on Thursday evening.

The child was declared brought dead at hospital while the 60-year-old woman woman is said to be undergoing treatment for serious injuries.

The victim’s family and other eyewitnesses alleged that the policeman and his friends deliberately ran over the toddler and his grandmother for being told to pay for the fish they had bought.

Constable Ashok, however, has been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and rash driving. He has been arrested while other occupants of the car have been absconding.

“The accident happened as the constable was reversing his car. He then called the police control room and took the two injured persons to hospital. He was not on duty at that time,” said the police. Locals, however, claimed that they nabbed Ashok while his friends managed to escape. Contrary to the allegations, the police denied that his companions, if at all, were also policemen.

Agitated locals went on to block the road near Akshardham Temple for sometime before they were dispersed by the police. Locals alleged batons were used on them to remove them from the road. The police said no force was used.

According to locals, constable Ashok and his friends were frequent visitors to the fish market near Akshardham Temple where they would consume alcohol with non-vegetarian snacks.

“They would order us to serve fish and chicken, but never paid us. When we would ask for money, they would threaten to remove our shops. They had threatened in the past to mow us down and they did that today,” the toddler’s uncle Indal told Deccan Herald. The fish market comes under the jurisdiction of Mandawali police station where Ashok is posted.

Sunday’s incident took place at about 3.30 pm. “Ashok and his friends were drinking near the fish market. They asked us to serve fish but refused to pay. There was an argument over that after which Ashok hurled abuses at us and entered his car. He then ran the vehicle over my nephew Gopal and his grandmother who were sitting nearby,” alleged Indal.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Eastern Range) Sanjay Beniwal confirmed that Ashok was drunk at the time of the incident, but claimed that the death was an accident.
Gopal stayed with his parents Santosh and Anita and elder brother Kanhaiya in the Yamuna floodplains.