NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the Delhi Police commissioner to pay Rs 3 lakh within six weeks to the next of kin of a tempo driver who died on Geeta Colony flyover due to negligent placement of barricade by the police in January last. The Commission also directed him to detail the departmental action taken against negligent police officials involved within four weeks.
The order came on a plea filed by human rights activist and Supreme Court lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy which alleged that Dharmender Rajput succumbed to injuries after hitting the police barricade due to negligence of police officials who placed the barricade in a wrong and negligent manner in the middle of the Geeta colony flyover.
Early this year, the additional commissioner of police, vigilance, had informed the NHRC that on the intervening night of January 19-20, Dharmender, driver of a tempo, had been signalled to stop at a police picket but accelerated and hit the barricade.
The police gave chase and Dharmender, who was reportedly drunk, hit the flyover wall and suffered serious injuries. The police then called up his family and asked them to shift him to a hospital where he died later.
Tripathy further alleged that the police did not even care to take the victim to the hospital.
The Delhi Police had informed the Commission that head constable Naval Kishore and constable Prabhu Yadav, allegedly responsible for the incident, had been suspended and a departmental probe had been initiated against them.
The Commission found that the police did not perform their duty properly and did not take immediate steps to save the life of victim. “If those steps had been taken, then possibly the life of victim could have been saved,” the apex human rights protection body said.