Delhi cop dies in Pragati tunnel accident

NEW DELHI: A Delhi Police sub-inspector died after ramming into a median barricade in the Pragati Maidan tunnel on Saturday night.
Police are investigating the cause by checking the CCTV footage. An auto was seen near the SI's scooter when the accident occurred.
The SI, identified as N.K. Pavitharan, was posted in East Delhi district's crime team. He was driving from India Gate towards IP Extension through the tunnel when his scooter lost balance and he fell on the road.
According to sources, the accident happened around 10.30pm when Pavitharan was taking a left turn in the tunnel after the Y-junction that separates the roads leading to Vikas Marg and Akshardham road.
He was driving in the right most lane adjacent to the walls of the tunnel. He then encountered a sudden collision with a median barricade, and was flung off his scooter on to the road.
Police officers and an ambulance rushed to the spot and found him in a critical condition. Tunnel marshals rushed to the spot too and tried to rescue him. Sharafat, a marshal, said: "I was present here when the accident occurred. He was still breathing when we put him in the ambulance." Pavitharan's helmet was found near him on the blood-soaked road.
"He was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival," a senior police officer said. Police added that no foul play is suspected and a case under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 304 A (causing death by negligence) of the IPC has been registered.
Delhi govt's PWD said: "There was no problem of water leakage inside the tunnel and the accident did not occur because of that. The tunnel is digitally monitored at all times and we informed police as soon as the accident occurred," a PWD official said.
The PWD recently claimed that it had started repairs in the tunnel, mainly for water leakage.
According to officials, the tunnel is safer and the leakage problem has been largely resolved. Earlier, PWD had slapped a legal notice on the construction company alleging "faulty design".
Only a year back, on May 24, a 19-year-old biker had met with an accident in the Pragati Maidan tunnel after he accidentally ran into crash barriers and toppled over to the other side. Due to the poor signal delays in the tunnel, the teen lost his life due to a delay in receiving medical assistance, given the lack of mobile connectivity in the 1.3-km tunnel.