Rajasthan man crashes SUV into van to kill cop who stopped him. He also dies
Police said the man who crashed his SUV into the police interceptor vehicle was initially stopped for driving on the wrong side and talking on the phone
JODHPUR: A Rajasthan man stopped by a police officer for a traffic violation on the highway crashed his sports utility vehicle (SUV) into a police vehicle, killing a 53-year-old assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of police on the spot. The driver also died due to the impact of the crash, police said.
Police said the incident took place at Tut ki Bari area in the jurisdiction of Jodhpur’s Karwar police station at about 6pm on Tuesday when ASI Bhanwar Lal was posted on the Jodhpur-Nagaur highway with an interceptor vehicle used to detect and prosecute speeding vehicles. Among the vehicles that he flagged down was an SUV coming from the wrong side.
Assistant commissioner of police Piyush Kavia said the man behind the wheels, Harishankar Vaishnav (40), a resident of Jalsu in Nagaur, was also on the phone. Vaishnav stopped the vehicle but didn’t agree to the penalty. An argument followed.
Police said Bhanwar Lal eventually started the process to issue a traffic challan, Harishankar Vaishnav abruptly drove away. At some point, he took a U-turn and drove towards the police team at a high speed and crashed into the interceptor vehicle. Bhanwar Lal, who was standing behind the vehicle and was relaying information about Vaishnav to the control room, was crushed to death due to the impact.
Vaishnav was taken to the Mathuradas Mathur Hospital by a police team which responded to a call but he succumbed to his injuries. Constable Ashok who was in the interceptor vehicle which turned turtle due to the impact of the crash, was injured. A second constable, Manish, was on the road when the incident took place and was unhurt.
