Driver arrested after Delhi Police van mows down man

New Delhi, Sep 18 (IANS) Delhi Police have arrested PCR van driver Constable Khimesh Singh, after the vehicle ran over a man near the Ramakrishna Ashram Marg metro station on Thursday.

An FIR has been lodged, and police officials confirmed he, along with others in the van at the time of the incident, are being interrogated.

The victim, Ganga Ram, who ran a small tea stall to support his family, died instantly after Constable Khimesh allegedly pressed the accelerator "by mistake".

The van mounted a roadside ramp and crushed Ganga Ram. Locals said he has around four to five daughters, and the family depended entirely on the tea stall for survival.

Residents accused the local police of running an illegal outpost in the area, where liquor bottles were also allegedly recovered.

They claimed that the constables and other officers who inspected the area in the PCR vans were often drunk, which ultimately led to this fatal incident. The Anti-Corruption Branch has also been deployed to investigate.

At around 5.10 a.m., the 112 PCR van struck and killed the physically challenged man in his 50s.

"A Delhi Police PCR van comes and kills this man, who is a very poor person with small children. These police officials used to come here to a nearby spot where they used to drink and spend the night. They have constructed an illegal structure there where they used to drink every day. People could not stop them," a local told IANS.

"The driver was drunk and killed this man. The van was speeding and rammed into a man who used to run a tea stall. These police officials came here daily and got drunk. Today, they killed an innocent person," another resident alleged.

New Delhi Additional DCP Hukma Ram reached the scene soon after the incident.

He said that all government funding and assistance available will be provided, and the police personnel are currently being held accountable.

The DCP said that a case has been registered against the accused and strict action will follow.

The Delhi Police Crime team took the body into custody and sent it for a post-mortem to Lady Harding Hospital.

--IANS

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