A head constable wrote to Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana urging him to take steps towards road safety and ensuring that police personnel follow traffic rules.
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Citing an RTI query, Sandeep Kumar, a head constable at the Patel Nagar police station in central Delhi said 228 police personnel were killed in road accidents from 2010 to 2021. The victims were from across 27 units up to the rank of ACP.
He further mentioned that he has been injured twice in accidents at Daryaganj and Moti Nagar. Since then, he has been involved in raising awareness on road safety and use of helmets.
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“It is requested that important steps be taken so that police personnel adhere to the traffic rules and everyone remains safe. We should fulfill all our responsibilities and make Delhi a better place,” Mr. Kumar said.
He claimed the number of deaths of police personnel due to road accidents is higher than those killed by terrorists or by criminals. Most of those who died were constables, he said.
He further cited an order from 2021 by the then Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Mukesh Chander that flagged the violations of traffic rules by the police personnel. According to the order, it threatened departmental action against police personnel found violating guidelines. It had said 41 police personnel were killed in road accidents in 2020.
Rising fatalities
The RTI query also revealed that 233 persons died and 983 were injured in road accidents between January and March this year. Last year, 1,239 persons were killed in road accidents, including police personnel. In 2018, a 55-year-old constable was killed after his motorcycle was hit by a truck in Model Town.
In 2021, a woman constable lost her life after her two-wheeler was hit by another vehicle in north-west Delhi’s Maurya Enclave while she was returning home after night duty, the police said.