Delhi cop who created green corridor for Lungi Ngidi, once played with Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir: ‘He wasn’t moving’

Ngidi was slowly and carefully moved into the ambulance. The priority was to get him to the hospital as quickly as possible. But it was 6:15 PM, and Delhi was on the verge of hitting peak traffic. That was when ACP Sanjay Singh took the call to implement a green corridor, ensuring Ngidi reached the hospital in just 11 minutes.

The journey from Arun Jaitley Stadium to Rajendra Nagar usually takes 25 to 30 minutes, but it was completed in 11 minutes after key junctions were cleared. Singh, however, was outside the stadium when Ngidi was injured and only learned of the incident when someone watching the Delhi-Punjab match on a mobile phone informed him.

“I thought if the ambulance entered the field, then the player had to be taken to the hospital. We had to give the route to the traffic guys. I went there, and the ambulance was near Gate No.2. The Delhi Capitals officials were also there. Lungi Ngidi was inside the ambulance, wearing an oxygen mask. He wasn't moving, and panic gripped the people. I asked the driver, ‘Where are you taking him?’ It was then that he said that the plan was to take him to BLK Max Hospital in Rajender Nagar,” he added.

“I asked the driver, ' Do you know the route? He told me that he would follow the Google Maps. It was peak hour. I immediately informed the control room and told them the entire route from the stadium to the hospital. Everyone was informed that the important junctions, such as Mandi House, should have proper traffic police deployment. It was then decided that a green corridor should be created,” he said.

“Green corridor means the traffic signal would be green for the entire route that the ambulance takes. Fortunately, everyone worked properly. The entire 8 km distance was covered in 11 minutes. One Delhi Capitals official was also travelling in my car, I was monitoring the entire situation, and I was getting the traffic cleared,” he added.

Not many are aware that Sanjay Singh is a former cricketer who played alongside Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he recognised the urgency of getting the player to hospital as quickly as possible.

“There's a Delhi Police cricket team. I played for the last time in 2012. There's one thing called the DDCA League Cricket match. Matches are played group-wise. There were ONGC and Indian Airlines teams, so Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Mohammad Kaif and Virender Sehwag all used to play. Virat Kohli was a kid back then; he used to play too. I have played cricket with all of them," said Singh.

Singh said the Delhi Police is well-equipped to create a green corridor at short notice because of the training and preparation every officer undergoes.

“Recently, an Artificial Intelligence Programme was killed, and members from several countries had come here. Our senior officials trained us properly at that time. We can create a green corridor at any time and implement it quickly. The entire credit goes to our senior officials," concluded Singh.

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