ASI Laxman Prasad was declared brought dead at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Institute, while the driver, Constable Ram Kumar and gunman Randhir Singh, were admitted to Safdarjung Hospital. Ram Kumar, who has sustained severe injuries on the face and neck, is stated to be serious.

``The bonnet and the engine of the van went under the truck. It was the windscreen that took the brunt of the impact, thereby inflicting such severe injuries to the injured,'' said the Deputy Commissioner of Police (PCR) Sandeep Goel.

The incident happened around 4 a.m. when the van, Zebra 19, was going towards Mayapuri from its base near Delhi Cantt, when it rammed head-on the rear of the truck (RSD - 9335).

The impact of the crash left the occupants stranded inside the vehicle for a while before a motorcycling patrolling staff arrived on the spot and rushed them to hospital.

``At the moment neither Ram Kumar nor Randhir Singh are in a position to give a statement,'' said the DCP.

A theory doing the rounds is that the driver was blinded by the high beam of a vehicle coming from the opposite direction. The second is that the occupants of the PCR were probably drunk and the driver lost control. This theory was, however, discounted by the DCP. ``We had the two survivors take alcohol tests at the hospital and they were clean,'' Goel said. The truck driver, Mohinder Singh and his son were inside the truck when the accident occurred. They have been picked up for questioning.