JOIN USA garbage truck driver was mowed down by a speeding mini lorry when he suddenly ran into its path trying to duck police caning, at Avalahalli late on Saturday evening.
Venkatesh, 40, a resident of Errampalli in Bagepalli, worked for daily wages. The body has been shifted to Victoria Hospital where autopsy will be conducted on Sunday morning. The mini-lorry driver abandoned his vehicle and fled the scene.
The accident occurred near the Avalahalli police station where about 200 garbage trucks were parked along the road, on their way to Mandur landfill. The truck drivers alleged that some cops from Avalahalli station, annoyed by the noisome stench emanating from the rubbish-laden trucks, forced them to remove their vehicles from the area. A tiff broke out between the police and the drivers and the cops launched a baton-charge to disperse the crowd.
Venkatesh, while trying to escape from the police action, jumped onto the road and came under the wheels of the mini lorry, eye-witnesses said.
Avalahalli police sub-inspector, however, denied that the lorry drivers were assaulted by policemen. He told this newspaper that the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike had directed trash carriers to dump the garbage at Mandur only after 10 pm. But the truck drivers lined up their vehicles in the area by evening, causing traffic jams. The garbage smell too was unbearable, he said.
“This evening, when some of our men went to request them to remove their lorries, the drivers fled the scene. Venkatesh, one of them, was mowed down by a speeding Canter while crossing the road,” he said.
The truck drivers later staged a protest in front of the Avalahalli police station blaming the police for the tragic incident. As a precautionary measure, the local police called in extra forces from Bangalore to tackle the mob.