Milk distributor held in Delhi hit-and-run case (Third Lead)

A milk supplier has been arrested for hitting a 32-year-old man with his autorickshaw leading to his death, police said on Thursday.

The deceased identified as Matbool was lying unattended on road for over an hour which led to his death, police said, adding, that the errant autorickshaw driver Rajesh Kumar Gupta, 25, was arrested from west Delhi Thursday evening.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Pushpendra Kumar told IANS that Gupta was booked under sections 279 (rash driving) and 304 (Punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The officer said that Gupta works as a milk supplier for Amul, an Indian dairy cooperative.

Gupta hit Matbool with his autorickshaw at around 5 a.m. in Subhash Nagar on Wednesday. Matbool, a resident of West Bengal, lay on the road unattended for almost an hour till the police was informed.

"We managed to arrest the autorickshaw driver with the help of CCTV footage captured by cameras installed in the area," the officer said.

The CCTV footage showed the driver stepping out and checking if his vehicle had been damaged in the accident while ignoring the victim. He then drove away.

It also shows a rickshaw puller stopping by to check, and then picking up Matbool's mobile phone and cycling away.

Police on Thursday evening identified the goods auto rickshaw driver as Rajesh and impounded his vehicle.

Matbool was an e-rickshaw driver and also worked as a security guard at night, police said.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government announced that it will bring a scheme soon to reward those who come forward to assist victims at such times.

Delhi Transport Minister Satyendar Jain expressed his view over apathy of passer's by who did not help Matbool and he died on the road.

"It was very sad to know that the people didn't come forward and help the accident victim who lay bleeding on the road," Jain told reporters.

"The government has made a scheme to reward people, including auto or taxi drivers, for helping accident victims and rushing them to hospital," Jain later announced.

Jain also said that if people save the life of any person, they would not face harassment. He said the scheme is named 'Good Samaritan Policy'.

"The scheme aims to provide cash reward as well as public felicitation by the government to those who help accident victims," Jain added.

"We will bring the bill into the house this month and get it cleared from the Lt. Governor," Jain said.

"It seems that people fear while helping accident victims thinking they may face legal trouble," he said, adding, "I want to inform all that no one can be harassed as per the Supreme Court ruling."

--IANS

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