Delhi man dies after falling into a pothole in Vasant Kunj, govt blames traffic police

A day after Delhi resident Praveen Kumar fell from his motorcycle after it got stuck in a pothole and was crushed by a water tanker, the Delhi government released letters to claim PWD engineers had written to traffic police about their personnel stopping repair work on roads. PWD Minister Satyendar Jain Sunday said three letters were written, but police did not let the PWD work.

“Delhi Traffic Police detained our maintenance vans. We had told them there were chances of accidents… The incident is unfortunate. Traffic police stopped maintenance work. This is happening all over Delhi and I have ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident,” said Jain.

What police say

In a statement, Harendra K Singh, DCP (Traffic, Southern Range) said, “… Delhi Police clarify that NOC from Traffic Police is sought only when a major repair work requiring closure of the road or diversion of traffic is required… For day to day repair work including repairing/filling of potholes etc, no permission is required…”