A 22-year-old gig worker died after being run over by a DTC bus in West Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh on Wednesday morning — the third death this month in which a DTC bus was involved — triggering a protest by his family and neighbours, who blocked the road.According to a police officer, the accident took place around 6.40 am near Ashok Park Metro station, opposite a petrol pump.Sonu Verma, the deceased, was riding a battery-powered Freedom scooter when the bus brushed against him. His shirt got caught in the bus, causing him to fall, and the bus ran over him, police said.Sonu’s childhood friend Ashish told The Indian Express that he had left his home in Indra Nagar, around 1.5 km from the accident site, at about 6.35 am. Another gig worker was riding just behind him. “He was the one who called their manager, who then called the family,” said Ashish.The bus driver fled the spot, Ashish said, adding that when the police arrived and tried to take Sonu’s body to the mortuary, his neighbours gathered near the Metro station and stopped them.Sonu’s younger brother, mother and father sat in the middle of the road, demanding that police show them the CCTV footage. A crowd of around 60-70 people gathered around the family.“I want justice for my son,” said Bharat Verma, Sonu’s father.Story continues below this adSonu’s 17-year-old brother added, “All I want is the driver to be arrested. You bring him here, we will leave.”As the crowd swelled, protesters stopped another DTC bus approaching from the opposite direction and allegedly vandalised it, smashing window panes. Around 50-60 police personnel subsequently arrived and cleared the protest site.The family eventually agreed to move the body after police told them they had traced the driver and shared his number with them. “As soon as the police told us that they had tracked the driver and gave us the number, we removed his body from the road,” Ashish said.Sonu was due to get married in two months, he added. “I used to play with him when we were children. He had left studies in Class 10, and started working to support his family. His mother is sick, and he wanted to support his younger brother in his studies.”Story continues below this adSonu’s father runs a meat-cum-general store in Indra Nagar, where the family of four has lived for more than 20 years. Bharat had moved to Delhi from Ara in Bihar to start a business.Police said they had identified the driver and registered an FIR under sections relating to death by negligence. Ashish said Sonu’s manager had promised that the company would settle his insurance claim.PAST ACCIDENTS THIS MONTHOctober 17: A DTC bus allegedly hit two scooters in Anand Parbat, killing a 40-year-old man and injuring two others.October 17: A DTC bus claimed the life of a motorcyclist in Vasant Kunj.