40-yr-old policeman run over by truck

A 40-year-old Delhi Police official was crushed to death by a truck at Adarsh Nagar in north-west Delhi in the wee hours of Saturday morning, police said. 

The deceased has been identified as constable Hemraj, a resident of Sadar Bazar in central Delhi. He was posted with the enforcement wing of the Delhi Transport Department.

He was conducting routine checks on vehicles --with a team headed by sub inspector Sultan Singh -- at an intersection in Azadpur when the accident took place at around 3.45 am.

"Hemraj had crossed the road to stop a vehicle for checking when a truck coming from the wrong lane hit him,” a senior police official said.

The constable was rushed to Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Jahangirpuri, but succumbed to his injuries on the way.  The driver of the truck, Rafiq Ahmed Mallik, 30, who hails from Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir, was arrested from the spot and the vehicle was impounded.

“Rafiq’s medical examination has confirmed that he was not driving under the influence of alcohol. He was transporting trade goods from Sadar Bazaar to Jammu and Kashmir,” the official added.

A case has been registered against Mallik at Adarsh Nagar police station. He faces charges under section 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and section 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code. “We are investigating the accident and questioning Rafiq to ascertain if he intentionally hit Hemraj,” the official said.

Rafiq told police that a case of rash driving is also pending against him in Haryana’s Sonipat district.   

Hemraj’s body has been handed over to his family after post-mortem. He is survived by his wife and two sons.