BENGALURU: Nelamangala traffic police on Friday arrested the driver of the container truck that ran over a boy, Bala Chauhan, and his mother, who were sleeping by the highway close to Jass Toll near Nelamangala. The incident occurred on December 17. Based on CCTV footage, the driver, Dhanpal Velu (51), was nabbed from Chennai harbour where he was in hiding.
Dhanpal was identified by the boy’s father when he was brought to the police station. He had thrashed the father before escaping, police said.
A senior police officer said a police team was sent to Tamil Nadu after gathering details of the container truck owner, Palani, based on the registration number (TN 04 AF 8515). who revealed that Dhanpal was behind the wheel. The truck had reached Chennai to offload its consignment and when police found Dhanpal, he was wearing an Ayyappa ‘mala’.
When he was interrogated, he initially told cops that he was not aware of the accident. But when the police told him that he was lying, even while wearing the Ayyappa ‘mala’, he confessed. He was later brought to the city for legal procedures.
“While escaping from the accident spot, Dhanpal had thrashed the boy’s father, Jothu Shivalal Chauhan, when he caught him. The boy’s uncle too chased the truck on the busy highway, but in vain. During the investigation, Shivalal came to the station and identified Dhanpal, who admitted that he wore the Ayyappa ‘mala’ to repent for his sin. He was handed over to judicial custody and released on bail on Saturday, the officer said.
Fourteen-year-old Chauhan, who belonged to a nomadic family from Maharashtra, was killed on the spot while his mother Mala Bai (39) sustained injuries when a rashly-driven container truck ran over them. They had come to Bengaluru from Dharwad for to sell goods at the Chikpet Sunday Bazaar, as they did on most weekends.