Head constable killed as drunk youth rams car into police patrol vehicle

A drunk youth rammed his car into a police patrol vehicle in north Delhi early Monday, killing a head constable and injuring his colleague, officials said.

Tushar Gupta, 19, who was returning home after meeting a friend, crashed his Honda City into the 'Prakhar' van near Khalsa College around 1.30 am. The impact was so huge that the police vehicle overturned and skidded for nearly 15 feet on the road, a police official said.

Head Constable Wazir Singh was trapped in the van and had to be rescued by his colleague Amit and passers-by, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Monika Bhardwaj said.

Singh was admitted to a hospital but succumbed during treatment, Bhardwaj said.

Amit, who was driving the patrol vehicle when Gupta crashed into it from the other side, has been discharged from hospital after receiving stitches on his hand, the DCP said.

Gupta, a resident of Model Town, also suffered injuries but has been arrested. His medical examination showed he was drunk at the time of the accident, police said.

Gupta was pursuing B.Com in Singapore and had returned to Delhi in March before lockdown. His father is a businessman and owned a shop in Sadar Bazar, they said.

A case under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 279 (rash driving) and 337 (causing hurt by act of endangering life) of the Indian Penal Code have been registered, the DCP said.

Constables Singh and Amit were on night duty when the accident happened.

"I was driving the vehicle. My colleague was seated right beside me. As the traffic light turned green, I took a turn towards the university area and suddenly a car rammed into us from another side," Amit said.

"We were severely injured and my colleague got trapped inside the vehicle. Public came to our rescue. They first rescued my colleague and then we were rushed to a hospital where my colleague who had suffered serious injuries died during treatment," he said.

Amit, who lives with his family in Narela, joined Delhi police in 2018 and is deputed in the Police Control Room unit. Singh, who served the force for over 25 years, was previously with the traffic unit but was transferred to the PCR unit in May-end this year, police said.

Singh is survived by his wife, two sons and mother who live in a village near Sonipat.

His elder son Vinay is a constable with Haryana police and lives in Gurgaon and the younger son is pursuing B.Com from a university in Rohtak.

According to Delhi Police, the national capital reported 2,164 accidents between January 1 till July 30 this year in which 557 people were killed and 1,908 were injured.

In July end, an on-duty ACP of the traffic police unit died in an accident near Rajokri flyover.