Truck overturns in South Delhi; 2 dead

All the CCTV cameras installed in and around the spot were also scanned to identify the accused driver and ascertain the sequence of the accident, he said. Kalra was married and lived with his family in Krishna Market in Lajpat Nagar and Malhotra was a resident of Saini Enclave near Karkardooma, police said..

A truck overturned in South Delhi's Lajpat Nagar early Wednesday, crushing to death two people going to the airport to catch a flight, police said. Ankit Malhotra and Ranjan Kalra, both aged 35, were into event management and going to Kolkata for work. Malhotra lived in Karkardooma and had come to pick Kalra up from his residence in Lajpat Nagar, they said.

The two were business partners and had organised weddings and other events in the couple of years in areas of Delhi-NCR and other states as well. The truck driver fled from the spot after the accident. The owner of the truck bearing a Haryana registration was identified. He was called and details of the accused driver was taken, a police official said.

The accused driver, identified as Vipin Yadav (25), was arrested later. He is a resident of Samraitha village in Navada district of Bihar, he said. He told police that he was carrying rice from Dhuri in Punjab and was to unload the container in Tughlakabad, the official added.

A medical examination was also conducted to check if the accused driver was under the influence of alcohol during the incident but reports suggested he was not in an inebriated state. "We received a call about the accident around 3.50 am," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) R P Meena said. A truck had overturned and the rice container it was carrying had fallen on a Honda City under the Lajpat Nagar flyover on the Ring Road, Meena said.

"The two persons inside the car were badly crushed under the container," he said. It took the police more than an hour to remove the vehicle and take out the bodies. Two big hydra cranes, one JCB and two small cranes from the traffic unit were called and the container filled with rice bags was removed, the officer said. Malhotra and Kalra were declared brought dead by doctors at a hospital, he added.

A case has been registered under section 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code, a senior police officer said. All the CCTV cameras installed in and around the spot were also scanned to identify the accused driver and ascertain the sequence of the accident, he said.

Kalra was married and lived with his family in Krishna Market in Lajpat Nagar and Malhotra was a resident of Saini Enclave near Karkardooma, police said.