Clearing public space: Three crushed to death in Peshawar
Excavator’s driver hastily steps on the reverse-gear
Excavator’s driver hastily steps on the reverse-gear. PHOTO: INP
PESHAWAR:
An anti-encroachment drive in Peshawar’s famed Ghanta Ghar Chowk went horribly wrong Friday night when an excavator crushed at least three people to death.
The incident happened when shopkeepers protesting against the campaign began pelting the vehicle with stones. The driver of the local municipal corporation’s excavator hastily stepped on the reverse-gear — unmindful of the fact that some people were standing just behind the heavy-duty vehicle.
“Three people were crushed to death when the driver reversed the excavator. He fled the scene along with other employees of the municipal corporation,” a police official at the Kutwali police station told The Express Tribune.
Police said the chief municipal officer (CMO) and other employees of the corporation had earlier launched the operation against the encroachers in the area.
Soon after encroachments were removed from one side, a number of shopkeepers gathered on the other side and started pelting the municipal vehicle with stones in a bid to stop the campaign.
The police official explained that the two bodies were trapped under the excavator while one was pulled out by the people on their own.
“The driver fled the scene and others cannot drive the huge vehicle,” the police officer said.
Police found it difficult to soothe the angry shopkeepers, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 17th, 2015.
An anti-encroachment drive in Peshawar’s famed Ghanta Ghar Chowk went horribly wrong Friday night when an excavator crushed at least three people to death.
The incident happened when shopkeepers protesting against the campaign began pelting the vehicle with stones. The driver of the local municipal corporation’s excavator hastily stepped on the reverse-gear — unmindful of the fact that some people were standing just behind the heavy-duty vehicle.
“Three people were crushed to death when the driver reversed the excavator. He fled the scene along with other employees of the municipal corporation,” a police official at the Kutwali police station told The Express Tribune.
Police said the chief municipal officer (CMO) and other employees of the corporation had earlier launched the operation against the encroachers in the area.
Soon after encroachments were removed from one side, a number of shopkeepers gathered on the other side and started pelting the municipal vehicle with stones in a bid to stop the campaign.
The police official explained that the two bodies were trapped under the excavator while one was pulled out by the people on their own.
“The driver fled the scene and others cannot drive the huge vehicle,” the police officer said.
Police found it difficult to soothe the angry shopkeepers, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 17th, 2015.