LUDHIANA, April 28: The irate residents of Basti Jodhewal locality here blocked vehicular traffic on the main G.T. Road here for more than three hours and pelted stones on moving vehicles after a boy Shanky Jain (10) was run over and killed on-the-spot by a speeding truck at around 11.30 am in Mahavir Jain Colony.As the news of the mishap spread in the area, a large number of residents gathered at the site of the accident and later marched towards the G.T.Road and squatted in the middle of the road.
The protestors, who had intercepted the truck, along with its driver, identified as Joginder Mishra hailing from Bihar, stoned passing vehicles and damaged around 12 buses and trucks. The traffic on the highway remained disrupted for more than three hours beginning from 1 p.m. and long queues of vehicles were seen on both sides of the road, later the police diverted the traffic from within the city to ease the traffic.
Senior civil and police officers including SDM (East) Manjit Brar and S.P. S.S. Sandhu arrived at the spot at around 3.30 p.m. and urged the protesters to lift the blockade. The vehicular traffic on the highway was resumed after 4 p.m., when the protesters dispersed and dead body of the boy was removed to the civil hospital for post mortem.
According to the information, the victim had come to visit his maternal grand parents from Balachaur (Hoshiarpur) and was going on a bicycle when the truck hit him.
Police have registered a against the driver who has been arrested and the truck has been impounded.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
