12-year-old crushed to death, residents ransack police post

A 12-year-old boy was crushed to death by a tractor trolley here Monday, officials said. Following the accident, angry residents vandalised a police post and damaged vehicles, alleging that the police had helped the tractor driver to escape.

The accident occurred around 2 p.m. Monday near Tila Mor police post in Sahibabad area of Ghaziabad, police said.

"Checking was being done at a police post, when a tractor-trolley suddenly took off in a bid to escape the check. The tractor trolley ran over a 12-year-old boy, who was returning from school. The boy died on the spot. The driver managed to get away," Superintendent of Police (City) Rahul Yadvendu said.

The victim was identified as Shakeel, a resident of Faruque Nagar area of Ghaziabad.

Local residents alleged that the police had helped the tractor driver in getting away. They blocked the Loni-Ghaziabad road, barged into the police post, and damaged official motorcycles, office furniture and a police Gypsy patrol car.

The local residents also held a sit-in at the spot for more than three hours. The crowd dispersed only after an assurance from senior police officers that action would be taken against the erring policemen.

"Apart from the concerned policemen, action will also be taken against the rioters," Yadvendu said.

Last updated on Jul 6^th, 2009 at 20:55 pm IST--IANS