Delhi: Car rams into parked tractor, three dead at Shadipur flyover

On Sunday morning, the families of the deceased were called to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital in Moti Nagar.

Kamaljeet Singh, Charandeep’s father, said, “Parveen came to our house last night and they planned to have dinner outside. While Rajesh and Tarun live near our house, Parveen lives in Jhilmil. Due to the lockdown, they couldn’t meet each other and went to Punjabi Bagh to have dinner. Around 1 am, I received a call from Charandeep’s phone. A passerby told me about the accident.” Kamaljeet worked at The Times Of India as a photographer. His son, Charandeep worked for Times Internet Limited.

Kamaljeet immediately informed Rajesh and Tarun’s families about the incident.

The three deceased are residents of Pandav Nagar and are childhood friends, said their families. Their friend, Parveen is undergoing treatment at Acharya Shree Bhikshu Hospital, where all four of them were taken after the accident. Police said he sustained severe injuries and is not fit to give a statement.

Families of the men rushed to the hospital to realise that three of the four were dead. They died on the spot after the iron columns crushed the car’s roof, said police.

“On our way to the hospital, we saw the tractor and the car. The tractor was parked on the right side of the road. There was no light there. How can anyone see it if there’s no light on the stationary vehicle and also on the road,” said Rajesh’s father.

Rajesh worked in a courier company called Unique Logistics near the Delhi Airport. Rajesh’s father said he is survived by his wife and two daughters aged 11 and 5.

“We haven’t told his daughters yet. They think their father is with his friends. We received a call from him around midnight. He said he would be back soon,” said a family member.

Meanwhile, police said they received a call from the spot at 1:30 am.

“By the time we reached, locals had pulled the men out from the car and sent them to Acharya Shree Bhikshu Hospital,” said police.

“We found the car and tractor at the spot. The car was in a damaged condition on the flyover. The accused tractor driver wasn’t found at the spot. A case has been registered against unknown persons and we are looking for the accused,” said Deepak Purohit, DCP (West).

The families of the deceased also alleged police reached the spot late and that the locals who helped the injured, also took their wallets and phones.

“After the accident, the men were trapped inside the car for some time. Police came 40 minutes late. Till then, a few locals pulled out our relatives. However, their phones and wallets are missing. We don’t know what exactly happened because police went to the hospital first,” said a family member.

DCP Purohit denied the allegations, saying that police received a PCR call around 1:30 am and a team reached the spot within 5-10 minutes.