Faridabad, June 11
An alleged member of the sand mafia crushed a police constable to death under a dumper loaded with sand at a “nakka” near the Palla police post in the wee hours today.

The victim was identified as Mahaveer Singh of Dubaldhan Majra village in Jhajhar district. Mahaveer Singh and his three colleagues had set up the nakka there following a verbal transmission from the Police Control Room about a dumper fleeing towards Delhi. The traffic police was on its pursuit.

Abhay Singh, DCP Central, said the dumper was being escorted by its owner, Rajpal Chauhan of Sector 30, who was driving a Santro car. He indulged in sand mining on the banks of the Yamuna in the district.

The dumper and the car sped away towards Delhi after crushing the constable. The dumper driver, Pappu of Khedi Kalan, was later nabbed at Badarpur. The owner of the dumper, however, abandoned his car and managed to escape.

The police has impounded the dumper and the car. A manhunt has been launched to nab the dumper owner.

Pappu later told the police that his employer escorting the dumper had directed him to hit the constable in order to escape the police net. The dumper driver was produced in a local court that remanded him in custody for two days.

The body of the deceased was handed over to the members of his family after a post-mortem examination. The body had been badly crushed.

Mahaveer Singh had joined the Haryana Police in 2003 after he retired from the Army.

He had served in the Army for 16 years. His colleagues say he was courageous and a team man.