New Delhi, Sept. 20 -- Four people, including an HR manager, were killed and two injured after a dumper rammed into a stationary crane and an auto-rickshaw with workers engaged in installing CCTV cameras for traffic police in southeast Delhi's Sarita Vihar on Sunday, police said. The deceased were working for the CCTV installation company and included two cousins. The driver of the dumper, who fled the scene following the incident at 3.20 am, was later apprehended, they said.

The incident occurred when the medium-sized dumper, bearing a Haryana registration number, was travelling from Noida towards Delhi and collided with the crane parked on the roadside, they said.

The crane was being used by workers who were installing CCTV cameras as part of the traffic police's surveillance infrastructure, while an auto-rickshaw carrying some of the workers was parked nearby.

Following the collision, the dumper allegedly hit the auto-rickshaw, leaving several workers seriously injured.

According to police, the workers were carrying out CCTV installation work at the time of the accident. Two of them were on the crane and were engaged in installing cameras, while others were near the auto-rickshaw and on the road.

The impact was severe and several workers sustained critical injuries. They were rushed to hospital, where four of them were declared dead during treatment, police said.

The deceased were identified as Umesh, 23, Praveen, 35, Anoop, 26, all residents of Sangam Vihar, and Suraj, 34, a resident of Munirka, police said.

Suraj was working as an HR manager with a technology company, while Praveen and Anoop were associated with the same company as labourers, which was involved in installing CCTV cameras, according to police. Umesh was not employed with the company, they said.

The injured were identified as Akash alias Tushar, 20, a resident of Sangam Vihar, and Khem Singh, 40, a resident of Rohini. Both are undergoing treatment, police said.

Another worker, Sudhir, a resident of Sangam Vihar, escaped unhurt.

The accident devastated a family from Sangam Vihar as Praveen, Anoop and Akash were cousins.

Praveen's father Ramdas said, "We have lost a young son. He has two kids, one around one year old and another around two-and-a-half years old."

Praveen was the sole-earning member of the family.

Ramdas said the family learnt about the accident in the morning through someone who had accompanied Praveen to the site.

"First we went to AIIMS Trauma Centre and then came to Sarita Vihar police station," he said.

Another family member, Brajesh Kumar, said Praveen was his elder brother while Anoop and Akash were his cousins.

He alleged that the workers were not provided adequate safety equipment while carrying out the work.

"They were working at night when a dumper hit their vehicle. Nobody is taking any action and the company is also not taking any responsibility.

The dumper was seized and police examined the accident site and vehicles.

Investigators are checking CCTV footage, the dumper's speed and route, the positioning of the crane and auto-rickshaw, and work-site safety arrangements.

Relatives alleged inadequate safety measures, but police have not established any lapse or fixed responsibility on the company.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.