NEW DELHI march 3 2011. A cop turned out to be the bravest and the only conscientious man among several passersby who were witness to a road accident in which the victim was lying unconscious close to what was becoming a death trap.
The accident had happened at the Delhi Gate crossing on Friday and had resulted in a fire which engulfed a truck and a bus following a collision between the two.
The police officer was on patrolling duty when he noticed the fire and the man lying unconscious near the two vehicles at Delhi Gate around 2am on Friday.
His act saved the bus driver and he was discharged from hospital after first aid.
The accident and the police officer's act of rescuing the injured bus driver was captured by a CCTV camera installed at the intersection.
Senior Delhi Police officers are now planning to reward the officer for his bravery, sources said.
"I first noticed a fire on the road. When I went near, I saw a man lying there and diesel was leaking from an overturned truck.
As a result of the collision, both the vehicles had caught fire. There could have been a blast in the vehicles.
I rushed towards the man and pulled him away from the spot, and called a PCR van," said inspector Pramod Joshi, who is in charge of anti-terrorist operations at Daryaganj police station.
Bus driver Dalbir Singh (45) was heading towards IGI Airport from Old Delhi and the truck ferrying goats was heading towards Raj Ghat from Aruna Asaf Ali Marg when the speeding truck hit the bus at the Delhi Gate crossing.
The impact of the collision was so great that the truck overturned and the bus driver was thrown out onto the road.
Several cars and autorickshaws passed the intersection when the incident took place but nobody bothered to stop and help the injured driver, said Joshi.
"I reached the spot some two minutes after the accident. Though several people saw Singh lying on the spot nobody rushed to his rescue.
I just did my duty," said Joshi. After Joshi dragged Dalbir to safety, five fire tenders had reached the spot and brought the fire under control.