Truck driver refuses to give bribe to transport staffers,pays with life

The postmortem examination said the death was caused by ante-mortem head injury and a case has been registered against the Passenger Tax Officer (PTO) and four enforcement constables at the local police station.

Chandauli Superintendent of Police (SP) Shalabh Mathur said the erring officials would be arrested if they are found guilty.

Circle Officer (CO) of Sadar area,Lal Dhari Bharti,told The Indian Express that Lal’s son Ashwini Kumar Gupta informed the police that they were carrying a consignment of herbal products from Delhi to Kolkata in their truck.

Gupta said they had reached the Ali Nagar area around 5 am when the Transport staff stopped them. He alleged that PTO Mohammad Arif and constables Gunjan Tiwari,Janmajay,CB Singh and Manoj demanded Rs 5,000 even after they produced relevant documents.

Lal’s son alleged that he had requested the enforcement team not to misbehave with his father as he was a cardiac patient. But they allegedly assaulted his father when he refused to pay the money,after which he vomited blood.

The Transport staff panicked and one of the constables carried the driver in the same truck on the pretext of taking him to hospital. But he left the truck near the Naubatpur check-post in Syed Raja area and escaped in a government vehicle along with his colleagues who were following the truck,the CO said. Bharti said the driver had died in the truck.

The SHO of Syed Raja police station,Ram Krishna Ram,said the autopsy report confirmed that the death caused by ante-mortem head injury. The guilty employees will be arrested on the basis of the report,he added. Chandauli’s Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO) Radhey Shyam said a letter had been sent to the Transport department headquarters and an inquiry would be ordered after they receive instructions from top officials.

He said the enforcement staff denied manhandling the truck driver. They said the driver tried to speed away when he was when asked to stop and jumped off his truck at a petrol pump. Since he was a cardiac patient,he could not bear the stress and died,the accused staff told the ARTO.

Radhey Shyam alleged some local transporters instigated the truck drivers to indulge in violence. A constable was injured in the stone pelting,he said.

On September 14,a truck driver had died following alleged harassment by enforcement staff led by Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO) Sunita Verma in Agra district. A murder case was registered there and investigation is pending.