Road rage: DTC driver beaten to death as passengers look on

New Delhi, May 11: In yet another brutal road rage incident, a 42-year-old DTC bus driver was beaten to death in broad daylight allegedly by a 22-year-old youth as passengers looked on after the bus grazed his bike in Mundka area of west Delhi, hours after which the accused was arrested.

The accused, identified as Vijay, a resident of Mundka, was arrested late in the night, police said. The victim Ashok Kumar, a resident of Jhajjar in Haryana, was attacked allegedly by the biker, following the accident at around 9.30 AM on May 10, evoking protest by employees of the government-run agency.

The Delhi government announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to Kumar's family. Shockingly, according to police, no passenger of the bus or any passerby came forward to save Kumar as he was allegedly attacked by the biker. Police had earlier not revealed the identity of the biker, saying he might be a minor.

They said that the biker had beaten Kumar with his helmet continuously for a few minutes and then fled the spot. Kumar was driving a low-floor, non-AC bus of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) which was going from Karampura to Bahadurgarh.

Investigators said the biker and a woman pillion rider fell on the road after the DTC bus grazed their motorcycle before the driver was attacked. The Delhi government announced a compensation of Rs five lakh to Kumar's family and Transport Minister Gopal Rai said he will submit a detailed report to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal about the incident.

Government said a permanent job in the transport department will be given to one family member of the deceased. "The CM has asked the transport department for a detailed report about the status of safety of DTC staff and passengers in buses," a government release said.

Rai also met the family members of Kumar at the hospital. After the incident, DTC drivers and conductors held a protest outside Rohini bus Depot, demanding better security for them.

"No external injury was found on Singh's body. The accused attacked the driver with helmet... We are also investigating if the accused also used fire extinguisher kept in the bus to thrash Ashok as the instrument was not found in its place. We have also recorded the statement of the bus's conductor...," said a senior police officer. Police said that a case under appropriate sections has been registered at Mundka police station.

PTI