Constable's timely response saves life

A Delhi Police constable’s quick thinking and prompt action helped save lives after the Ring Road accident in which a rickshaw puller was killed in central Delhi’s Daryaganj on Thursday. 

Constable Shimbhu Dayal, posted with Daryaganj police station, was on beat patrol when he saw the driver of the SUV losing control around 11 pm. The driver, who was drunk, then ran into rickshaw pullers on the roadside, killing one of them and injuring two others.

A police officer said Shimbhu rushed to help. “The constable made a call to the police control room to ask for backup and also helped drag out the occupants of the Tata Safari, which had turned turtle,” the officer said.

Shimbhu told this newspaper that the doors of the SUV were jammed on impact and the occupants were stuck upside down for over 10 minutes. “They were finally evacuated from the boot of the SUV,” he added. They were identified as Rohini-resident Kartik Sahni and his driver Satyaprakash.

Several motorists had also stopped at the spot. Though Kartik and Satyaprakash were injured, they were beaten up by the mob on realising that they were drunk. The mob also damaged the SUV.

Despite being outnumbered, Shimbhu intervened to save them. “Soon, a PCR van arrived at the spot and provided help to control the situation,” Shimbhu said. 

The victims were taken to Lok Nayak Hospital. Munna, 50, who died, had come to work in Delhi from a village in Uttar Pradesh. The two others sustained serious head injuries and timely medical care saved their lives, the officer added.

Shimbhu was on picket duty near Pusthak Mahal from 7 pm to 10 pm, and was later assigned patrolling in beat number 8. He was near Ghata Masjid on Ring Road when the accident took place.