Rajkot: Migrant worker waiting for bus crushed by garbage van

The incident took place in front of the bus station of Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) at Shashtri Maidan around 4 pm Thursday.

A 35-year-old farm labourer on way to his native place in Dahod district in central Gujarat was run over by a garbage collection van while he was waiting for a bus in Rajkot city late Thursday, police said. The driver and the cleaner of the van have been arrested.

The incident took place in front of the bus station of Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) at Shashtri Maidan around 4 pm Thursday.

The labourer, identified as Bhuptasinh Bambhaniya, was sitting near the wall of the Rajkumar College opposite the entry gate of the bus station when the driver of the mini-tipper van lost control of the vehicle and hit an autorickshaw from behind. The van later climbed onto the footpath and crushed Bambhaniya against the wall of the Rajkumar College.

Sharad Nimavat, a police sub-inspector with the ‘A’ Division police station in the city, said Bambhaniya was killed on the spot.

“Bambhaniya was working as an agricultural labourer in Kagdadi village of Tankara taluka of Morbi district. He was returning to his native village of Dumra in Dhanera taluka of Dahod district owing to little work these days. He was estranged from his wife. His brother and other family members are working in Upleta taluka of Rajkot district,” Nimavat further said.

Rajkot has been witnessing a large-scale exodus of local migrants and inter-state migrant workers since the fourth week of March when the lockdown to control the outbreak of novel coronavirus (Covid-19).

Police said the garbage van of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation was driven by Raghubhai Ladher, a resident of Hari Om Chowk in Rajkot, while Maechel Damor was sitting in the cleaner’s seat. “While Ladher has a driving licence, he was not the driver on duty to drive the tipper van. Damor was the driver of that van. We had arrested the duo on Thursday and they were granted bail on Friday,” Nimavat, who is the investigating officer of the case, said.

The RMC gives contracts to private parties to run the tipper van for door-to-door garbage collection operations in the city.

Subhash Vaghela, driver of the auto-rickshaw which was hit by the tipper van, was also injured in the incident. Based on a complaint filed by Vaghela, ‘A’ Division police have booked Ladher and Damor for rash driving and causing death by negligence.