Cop death finger at silt dump on road

Patna: The silt dumped haphazardly on roads by Patna Municipal Corporation workers has literally turned into a deathtrap.

A personnel of the Patna police’s quick response team (QRT) was crushed to death by a speeding SUV, while the pillion rider suffered serious injuries, as the bike which they riding skidded on the silt dumped on the road. The accident occurred on Monday morning near Anisabad roundabout.

The deceased, Niranjan Kumar, 35, along with his QRT colleague, Premchand Ravidas, 30, were moving from Chitkohra to Anisabad area. Niranjan was driving the bike, while Premchand was riding pillion, when their bike skidded near the tempo stand on the silt dumped on the road. Sources said before they could stand up, an SUV coming from behind them crushed Niranjan.

Police sources said Niranjan was rushed to hospital where he was declared brought dead, while Premchand is admitted at Paras HMRI with leg injuries. A case of accident has been lodged at Gardanibagh police station in this connection.

Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manu Maharaaj said: “We have lodged an accident case in this connection. We will probe the case.”

Niranjan, a resident of Saharsa, is survived by his widow, two daughters and a son. After post-mortem, Patna police gave Niranjan a guard of honour at the Police Lines. A few weeks ago, Niranjan received a police award for good job at the Police Lines.

The Monday incident exposed the PMC’s negligence to lift silt dumped on the road causing inconvenience to residents of several localities.

The Patna Municipal Corporation, however, claimed that the accident occurred on the other flank of the road where the silt was not dumped. “I have spoken to the city manager of the New Capital circle and he told me that the silt was dumped on the opposite flank of the road. It is a completely false allegation that the QRT personnel died because of the silt dumped on the road,” said deputy municipal commissioner Vishal Anand.

The executive officer of the New Capital circle of PMC, Shailesh Kumar, echoed Vishal. “The silt was scooped out of the drain only two days ago. We were waiting for it to dry up so that it could be removed. Anyway, the accident occurred on the other side of the rod,” he claimed. Residents, however, claimed that the silt scooped out of the drain was dumped on the road in a way that it had scattered across the road.

Courtesy: The Telegraph