Protest erupts as reversing tipper crushes biker to death in Lalru

Mohali, January 9

A 30-year-old brick kiln worker riding a bike was crushed to death while the person riding pillion survived injuries after a tipper truck hit them while reversing on the Jeuli-Malakpur road in Lalru today.

Irate kiln workers and their kin blocked the road and hurled stones at policemen trying to lift the blockade. The protesters also raised slogans against the administration for failing to rein in tipper trucks used for mining.

Dera Bassi SDM Himanshu Gupta also reached the spot.

The deceased was identified as Bhim, a native of Muzaffarnagar (UP), who had started working at the kiln a month ago. He is survived by six siblings. The injured was identified as Chhote Lal.

According to information, the victims were going to the kiln on a bike at the Jeuli-Malakpur road this morning. An earth-laden tipper was moving in front of them.

The tipper driver stopped the vehicle and started reversing it in order to give pass to another tipper coming from the opposite direction. Taken by surprise, the two bikers did not get time to get aside and were hit by the tipper truck. Bhim was crushed under it. The bike was damaged too.

Locals said as soon as the kiln workers came to know about the accident, they reached the spot and staged a protest.

Cops tried to remove the body, but protesters showed resistance following which some of the agitated workers, including several women, started pelting cops with stones. The situation was, however, brought under control immediately.

An official of the Handesra police station, Malkiat Singh, said, “On the statement of Chhote Lal, a case has been registered against the tipper driver. The driver has been arrested and the tipper impounded.”

The Dera Bassi SDM said the police had been instructed to carry out regular checking of overloaded tippers. He added that mining officials had been asked to find alternative routes for tippers in two days so that these vehicles did not use link roads through villages.

Wheels of terror

• Despite the administration constituting seven teams to keep a check on the movement of mining vehicles in the district on daily basis from January 1 onwards, the terror of tipper trucks continues.
• Tipper trucks used for mining now move in a queue, batches of six to seven trucks, and use link roads through villages. Residents’ protests are falling on deaf ears as they say overloaded tippers damage village roads, pose risk to commuters besides raising dust all the way.
• The tipper terror prevails on Dera Bassi-Barwala road, Mubarikpur-Ramgarh road, Mubarikpur-Sundran road, Gulabgarh-Behra road, Bijanpur road, Mukandpur road and Bhagwasi-Toganpur link road.