Delhi girl hit by car, dragged for 4 km in Sultanpuri on New Year, chilling video raises questions

New Year opened on a grim and monstrous note for Delhi after a 23-year-old girl was hit by a car and dragged for several kilometres. The 23-year-old victim's body was found naked on the road when the police finally reached the spot. 

Delhi LG VK Saxena reacting to the news said that his head 'hangs in shame' over the incident. 

Even as every possible support/help and beyond, to the family of the victim will be ensured, I appeal to all to not resort to opportunistic scavenging. Let's together work towards a more responsible and sensitive society.

— LG Delhi (@LtGovDelhi) January 1, 2023

The national capital is infamous for its crimes against women. But in this case, several questions are being posed at the Delhi Police which signals utter negligence. 

(TRIGGER WARNING: DISTURBING VISUALS)

CCTV video:

Video of car that dragged Delhi girl for 4 km surfaces, accused arrested. @Scribe_Rahul joins us with more details.#ITVideo #DelhiMurder (@snehamordani) pic.twitter.com/ObhxCtgmiv

— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) January 2, 2023 

What happened? A 23-year-old woman was on her way home after work on her scooty, when a car allegedly hit her scooter, and she fell off and got entangled in the car's wheel. 

• Reportedly, five occupants of the car - all men - did not realise that a body was trapped under their car after the alleged hit and run and they kept driving and dragging the victim along.
• The victim's body was dragged from Sultanpuri to Kanjhawala in Delhi before her body fell off on the road. 

#DelhiCrime | Delhi Police has arrested 5 accused in the Delhi new year horror case where a 23-year-old woman was dragged by a car for 4 kilometres.@PoojaShali @arvindojha | #ITVideos #DelhiScootyAccident pic.twitter.com/v6VYAqAWZJ

— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) January 2, 2023

• The incident was reported to the police only after a witness called them around 3.30 am on Sunday, saying that a grey Baleno car was dragging a body. 
• According to the witness, Deepak Dahiya, the car dragged the body for 18-20 kilometres, while repeatedly taking U-turns on a 4-km stretch. 

Dahiya said he followed the car while being in contact with the police. The body eventually fell off near Jyoti village near Kanjhawala, after which the accused fled the spot. 

• All the five accused  - Deepak Khanna (26), Amit Khanna (25), Krishan (27), Mithun (26) and Manoj Mittal (27) - have been arrested and the car has been seized. Samples have been taken to check whether they were inebriated at the time of the accident.
• The accused have been booked under various sections of the law including Section 304 of the IPC which is a non-bailable offence.
• The police are also on the hunt for the car's owner. 

Given that the victim's body was found naked, several questions are being raised on whether it was just an accident. 

What are the police saying? Delhi Police officer Harendra Singh told ANI that the victim wasn't sexually assaulted and also warned that the police would act against those making claims on social media that the girl was raped.

Delhi | As per our investigation, it was a fatal accident. All 5 persons who were present in the car were arrested. They will be produced before the court today. The postmortem of the deceased girl will be conducted through a board of doctors: Harendra K Singh, DCP Outer District https://t.co/yGrjnk3sKO pic.twitter.com/P5BjWVo5AG

— ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2023

• The body of the victim has been sent for post-mortem and the results will reveal the nature of the crime. 
• But the victim's family has insinuated that it doesn't seem to be a case of an accident. This is what her mother said: 

When my brother arrived at PS, he was told about death of my daughter. My brother told me about it. My daughter was only person earning in our family.She was wearing so many clothes but not single piece of cloth was there on her body,what kind of accident was it:Deceased's mother pic.twitter.com/lWyGkJa522

— ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2023

• AAP spokesperson also hit out at Delhi police officer Harendra Singh for rushing to rule out rape even before the postmortem report could be out. 

AAP Chief Spokesperson Shri @Saurabh_MLAgk Addressing an Important Press Conference | LIVE https://t.co/yuayasXmP5

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) January 2, 2023

• The Delhi Commission for Women has also issued summons to the police for their oversight in the incident. 

#Kanjhawala केस में दिल्ली पुलिस से मेरे सवाल - pic.twitter.com/CmZxqryDDM

— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) January 2, 2023

The questions being raised against Delhi Police:

• Why was there no patrolling in the area where the accident took place? 
• Given that the victim was dragged for a long time over 4 km, where were the police along the region? 
• Security is often tighter on New Year, so why did no police catch the perpetrators and miss a hit-and-run case?