The man who is accused of driving the car that dragged 20-year-old Anjali Singh to her death was not inside the vehicle at the time of the accident in Kanjhawala, Outer Delhi, on Sunday morning, police investigation has found. The accused, Deepak Khanna, was asked by his cousins and friends to tell police he was with them at the time, since he is the only person with a driving licence, police said.
During investigation, police found that Deepak’s phone location from the time did not match with that of the other four accused in the case. His phone location and call records showed he was at home all day, said police. The 26-year-old is a Gramin Sewa driver and was among the five arrested by the police.
Sagar Preet Hooda, Special Commissioner of Police (Law & Order), said that during interrogation of the accused, it was found that it was Amit Khanna, one of the five named in the FIR, who was allegedly driving the car. Hooda said they have scientific evidence to prove this.
“After the accident, Amit told his brother Ankush Khanna about it. Ankush then asked them to contact Deepak (their cousin), who has a licence, to take the blame. We are looking for Ankush and another man named Ashutosh. The two men are also involved in the case,” said a senior police officer.
Anjali’s mother and a younger sister. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)
“During interrogation, the accused gave contradictory statements. CCTV footage was checked, but it wasn’t clear who was driving. We have found that Deepak’s phone location was of his house that night. During sustained interrogation, Deepak broke down and confessed,” said a senior police officer.
The occupants of the car have been booked for culpable homicide, rash driving and criminal conspiracy.
Ashutosh, who works at a tech firm in Noida, is said to have known about the body and allegedly lied to the police about the driver, said Hooda. The FIR in the case states that the car owner was identified as Lokesh, who told the police the car was with his brother-in-law Ashutosh.
Ashutosh told police he gave the car to Deepak and Amit, the FIR states. “He is an accomplice who knew about the body but didn’t say anything and also lied that Deepak was the driver,” said an officer.
Sources said both Ashutosh and Ankush are now absconding.
According to the investigators, Amit Khanna (25), who works for a nationalised bank in Uttam Nagar; Krishan (27), who worked at the Spanish Culture Centre at Connaught Place; Mithun (26), a hairdresser at a salon; and Manoj Mittal (27), a BJP functionary in Sultanpuri, had planned to celebrate New Year’s Eve together at Murthal.
The men left their houses around 6 pm and went to Mittal’s ration shop in Sultanpuri, where they allegedly got drunk. They stayed there till 10 pm and then left for Murthal.
The men left Murthal around midnight. While returning, between 1.40 am and 2 am, they were on the same route that was being taken by Anjali and her friend (pillion rider). The Baleno car and the Jupiter scooter were entering a narrow lane when the car hit it from the front. The women fell on the road.
“The men were in an inebriated state and fled from the spot. They reversed the car; Anjali came under the car and the lower part of her leg got stuck near the tyre. She was then dragged. Initially, the men may not have known that she was trapped, but realised it in some time,” said a source.
The men drove from Sultanpuri to Ladopur ‘Cut’, towards Kanjhawala Mor.
“They were intentionally avoiding pickets and didn’t cross any borders to avoid checkpoints. They reached Kanjhawala Mor around 3 am and kept driving in circles, taking small cuts and turns to avoid police. Around 4 am, the body fell from the car,” said the officer.
Video grab from CCTV footage of the car that hit Anjali and dragged her for several kilometres. (PTI)
Anjali’s body was found around 4.05 am-4.10 am by the police vans which were chasing the Baleno car after being alerted about the accident.
To evade police, the accused went back to Sultanpuri and reached Ashutosh’s house around 4.40 am where they returned the car and told him about the accident. “It is suspected that Ashutosh tried to remove blood from under the car. If proven, he will be booked for destroying evidence,” said a senior police officer.
In newly surfaced footage, four accused men are seen leaving in an autorickshaw. They head back home around 5 am.
Police said the men knew they would be in trouble since none of them has a driving licence. They roped in Deepak, who lives nearby, for help.
“Deepak volunteered when he was asked by the accused. He thought it was a simple accident and didn’t realise the gravity of the situation. He later broke down during the interrogation,” said a source close to the investigation.
The police arrested the accused by 7-8 am on Sunday.
