Five traffic policemen were seriously injured when a car rammed into a barricade set up by them in North Delhi’s Civil Lines area in the early hours of Monday. The driver of the car has been arrested, police said.
The incident happened around 2.10 am, when a Santro rammed into a barricade set up by Traffic police. It then hit another barricade a few feet away before coming to a halt. Five of the 11 policemen, who were manning the barricades near Metcalfe House in the Civil Lines area, received serious injuries.
“We were busy checking other vehicles. Suddenly, we heard a blast. A car rammed into the barricade and then hit another barricade 12 feet away. Five policemen were injured and they started bleeding profusely,” one of the policemen, present at the time of the incident, said.
[related-post]
The injured policemen — assistant sub- inspector Hem Chand, head constable Narendra Dutt and constables Pradeep, Vinit Kashyap and Vinit Kumar — were rushed to the nearby Sushruta Trauma Centre, a police officer said.
A doctor at the trauma centre said all the policemen sustained head injuries, and two of them suffered fractures as well. They were shifted to Max Hospital in Patparganj on Monday evening. Two of the officers are said to be in a critical condition, police said.
The man behind the wheels of the vehicle has been identified as Dinesh Sharma (47). He was on his way back from Vrindavan to his home in Rohini, police said. Dinesh’s wife and three children were also travelling with him.
“Dinesh’s wife sustained a head injury in the accident and she was taken to a government hospital. Her condition seems to be stable now,” a police officer said. Dinesh and his children were not injured, police said.
Dinesh reportedly told the police that he had dozed off for a few seconds and did not notice the barricade.
“Dinesh claimed that he dozed off for a few seconds and hit the barricade. Initial investigation has revealed that he was not drunk,” a police officer said.
A case has been registered against the driver under sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others).