In the early hours of Sunday, Delhi Police constable Sandeep, dressed in plainclothes, was patrolling the streets of Outer Delhi’s Nangloi on his motorcycle. The 30-year-old was keeping an eye out for miscreants after reports of a rise in burglaries were received from the area.
At 2.15 am, near Jatt Dharmshala in Veena Enclave, Sandeep spotted a WagonR being driven recklessly and asked the driver to slow down, police said. But the driver hit the constable and dragged him for 10 metres, they said, adding Sandeep died of injuries.
A 2018-batch constable, he is survived by his wife, mother, and five-year-old son. When the incident took place, he was just three minutes away from Nangloi police station where he was posted.
The Indian Express visited the crime scene on Sunday and found several pieces of plastic scattered near a pile of bricks by the road, stacked by the wall of a building. Black and transparent chunks of plastic were on the road, broken off seemingly from the car bumper.
The spot where the constable was killed. (Express Photo by Abhinav Saha)
According to DCP (Outer) Jimmy Chiram, “He (Sandeep) saw a WagonR car being driven recklessly and asked the driver to not drive rashly. Suddenly, the car sped up and hit constable Sandeep from behind, dragging him for about 10 metres.”
The DCP said two people were in the car and they were absconding. He said footage from a CCTV camera near the spot shows that Sandeep, who was on a white TVS Victor bike, took a left turn and gestured to the WagonR to slow down. The car accelerated and hit Sandeep’s motorcycle and dragged him. It then hit a parked car.
“Sandeep was taken to Sonia Hospital and later shifted to Balaji Hospital in Paschim Vihar. He sustained head injuries, which led to his death,” he said.
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The body was taken to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital for postmortem. Later, his brother Hitesh, Investigating Officer Praveen, and his colleagues took the body to his village in Sonipat, Haryana for the last rites.
Police suspect one of the occupants in the car was a liquor smuggler. Another officer said the accident might be a result of previous enmity between the accused persons and the constable: “We are going through police records to ascertain people arrested recently and if the deceased constable was part of the arresting team .”
‘By the time we reached the hospital, he was gone’: Brother
Sitting on the steps of Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Mangolpuri, Hitesh was struggling to comprehend what had happened to his brother Sandeep. “I got a call around 3.30 am on Sunday saying that Sandeep was hurt, come quickly… By the time we reached the hospital at 5-5.30 am, he was gone,” he said in a shaky voice.
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Hitesh, however, is unaware of the details. “I haven’t gone to the police station, I’ve been here with my brother the whole time,” he said.
Hitesh said the family was here in the morning. “I sent them home,” he said.
Asked if he had any demands from the authorities, Hitesh, controlling his emotions, said “Kuch nahi (Nothing).”
Police have lodged an FIR against unknown persons and said further investigation is ongoing to nab the two culprits.
Himanshu Harsh is a Correspondent with The Indian Express, currently leading on-the-ground coverage in Bihar. With a reporting career rooted in the complexities of the National Capital Region (NCR), Himanshu specializes in the critical intersection of law, crime, and civic governance.
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An alumnus of the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi, Himanshu brings a rigorous academic foundation to his investigative work. His expertise is characterized by a "ground-up" reporting style, most notably demonstrated during his extensive coverage of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where he analyzed shifting political landscapes and grassroots sentiment.
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The spot where the constable was killed. (Express Photo by Abhinav Saha)