Ghaziabad cop, helping accident victims, killed as truck rams police van on Delhi-Meerut Expressway

According to the police, head constable Anuj Chaudhary and constable Pankaj Singh, 28, were on duty in the PRV when they received a call around 12.12 am.

A 32-year-old Ghaziabad police head constable died and another cop was injured when a truck collided with their PRV as they were responding to a call about an accident on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway in Bhojpur early on Monday morning, Hindustan Times reported.

According to the police, head constable Anuj Chaudhary and constable Pankaj Singh, 28, were on duty in the PRV when they received a call around 12.12 am. The report said a Thar SUV heading towards Meerut had struck the central verge of the expressway, and its passengers needed assistance.

As per HT, the incident occurred near the Amrala underpass on the Ghaziabad-Meerut carriageway of the expressway, close to Bhojpur. Police said both constables reached the spot and found that the SUV driver had suffered minor injuries. They parked the PRV on the roadside and prepared to take the injured passengers to a nearby healthcare facility.

While arrangements were being made, the SUV driver requested the policemen to lock his vehicle. Constable Singh went to secure the SUV, while Chaudhary returned to the PRV to take a medical kit to provide first aid to the injured.

At that moment, a truck coming from Ghaziabad at high speed rammed into the PRV from behind, right where Chaudhary was standing, according to the report.

The impact left Chaudhary with severe injuries. Some passengers from the Thar SUV were also hurt, including one who sustained a fractured hand. Additional police teams reached the scene, and all the injured were rushed to a hospital, where Chaudhary later died during treatment. The PRV was severely damaged in the collision.

Police have arrested the truck driver, identified as 35-year-old Rishikesh Kumar, and seized the Rajasthan-registered vehicle. Modinagar ACP Amit Saxena said Rishikesh used to transport onions from his hometown in Madhya Pradesh's Morena to Dehradun. "He has been arrested. An FIR was registered against him under sections 106 (death due to negligence) and 281 (rash driving or riding in a public place) of BNS," TOI quoted ACP Saxena as saying.