Cop in truck-chase drama recounts action-packed night

Delhi Traffic Police constable Dinesh Kumar had no idea what was in store for him when he stepped on to the footboard of a truck to check its papers on Wednesday night.

“I went to the passenger’s side of the truck and told the driver to show the documents. As there was no helper in the truck, the driver requested me to come to the passenger’s seat to check the documents,” Dinesh said in his statement, which was recorded at the Mandir Marg police station.
As Dinesh climbed on the truck's footboard, driver Mohammad Tareef told him that he will park the vehicle on the roadside.

Instead, he stepped on the accelerator, speeding away from the police picket near Shankar Road in the Ridge area.

The 26-year-old kept standing on the truck's footboard for 15 minutes before an high-action drama ended with the sand-laden truck being cornered near Jhandewalan Metro station by several cars from police control room.

Dinesh, who hails from Haryana’s Mahendragarh district, is posted with Chanakyapuri traffic circle.

Signalled to stop
He was on night duty on Wednesday when the truck  was signalled to stop by assistant sub-inspector Jalbir at 11.15 pm.

Tareef took the truck towards Jhandewalan Metro station and Panchkuian Road, and then took a U-turn from R K Ashram Metro station.
He drove to Mandir Marg and went all the way to the Laxminarayan Temple before taking another U-turn.

The truck was finally stopped by the PCR vans in front of Hanuman Mandir near Jhandewalan Metro station. Tareef tried to flee on foot.
“Tareef fell while getting off the truck. We overpowered him when he got up and ran again,” Dinesh stated.

Dinesh has denied the presence of a helper in the truck.
On Thursday, senior police officers, including Deputy Commissioner of Police (PCR) R K Singh, had stated that the helper had managed to flee.