CCTV Shows Delhi Woman Was With Friend. She Allegedly Fled After Accident

Delhi’s Anjali Singh, whose death after being dragged by a car for 13 km has yet again prompted questions on the safety of women in the national capital, was not alone when her scooter met with an accident, sources have said.

In a new twist to the capital shocker, which took place in the early hours of this New Year, investigators have found that 20-year-old Anjali was with a friend, Nidhi, when a Maruti Baleno car hit her scooter. The friend, sources said, received minor injuries in the crash and fled the scene. Anjali’s leg, investigators said, got stuck in the axle of the car, and she was dragged along with the vehicle.

Police sources said they have tracked down the woman and will record her statement as part of the probe.

The new findings came to the fore when police were preparing a route map to get more clarity on what happened that night. They found that the two friends left a hotel at 1.45 am after attending a New Year’s party. CCTV footage shows the two women exiting the hotel, not very far from the spot of the accident. They are seen getting on the two-wheeler and driving away. Here, it is Nidhi who is driving and Anjali is riding pillion. Anjali, it is learnt, later said she wants to drive and the two swapped places.

The accident took place at Sultanpuri in west Delhi. The five men in the car have admitted that they were drunk at the time of the crash. Panicked, they drove away, unaware that Anjali was dragged along, the accused have told police.

Deepak Khanna, who was at the wheel, has told police that as they drove away, he felt “something was stuck”, but others dismissed him.

The car allegedly drove for about 13 km, dragging the 20-year-old woman through the streets. While the car was taking a U-turn at Kanjhawala, one of accused Mithun spotted a hand under the vehicle. Once the car was stopped, the body came off. The accused then fled the scene, they have told police.

Footage of multiple CCTV cameras on the streets has captured the night horror. One of the videos, now viral, shows the car making a U-turn with the woman’s body stuck to it.

An eyewitness has said that he shouted out when he saw the body being dragged, but the car did not stop. He then informed police and chased the vehicle on his two-wheeler. Police eventually reached when the body had come off and the accused had fled the scene.

The investigation has found that the first call to police control room, apparently from the eyewitness, was received about 2 hours after Anjali left the hotel. The damaged scooter was found half an hour later and the body was found around 4.10 am.

All five accused have been arrested and the woman’s preliminary autopsy report is expected this afternoon. The accused have been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, rash driving and causing death by negligence.

While the woman’s family has alleged that she was sexually assaulted, police have said they have not found any evidence of this.