A day after a 13-year-old boy and a 50-year-old man were injured when a traffic signal pole fell on them near Connaught Place, the Delhi traffic police on Wednesday said they had issued a notice to the private agency responsible for maintaining traffic signals across the city.
Delhi Police have also registered an FIR against unknown persons for allegedly committing a negligent act endangering human life or personal safety. After a probe, the agency shall be held accountable for the incident. It’s a one-off incident and we will take strict action against those culpable. Prima facie, it appears that the pole was rusted, causing it to collapse. All traffic lights will be inspected and we will check when they have to be replaced…”
Police said both the boy and the 50-year-old man suffered head injuries. A call about the incident was received around 9.30pm from the Outer Circle of Connaught Place near Minto Bridge, according to police. The injured man, identified as Sunil Singh, 50, was taken to BL Kapoor Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment.
We have also constituted a team who will now inspect all traffic signals across Delhi so that such an incident does not happen again.
Police said the boy was travelling in the auto with his parents and younger sister, while Singh was riding a two-wheeler. Ajay Chaudhary, special commissioner of police (Traffic), said, “We have issued notice to the maintenance agency/company. The incident took place on Tuesday night when an auto-rickshaw carrying a family and a two-wheeler were struck by the falling pole. His family said on Wednesday that he was stable but declined to comment further. The Delhi traffic police said on Wednesday that they had taken cognisance of the incident and would take action based on the findings of the probe.
The boy’s father, who declined to be identified, said the family was visiting Delhi from Ayodhya.
