New Delhi:
Murder charges should be filed against the five men who were involved in Delhi’s hit-and-drag case in which a 20-year-old died, the Union Home Ministry has directed, sources told NDTV. The ministry also asked that the policemen who ignored the multiple SOS calls from eye-witnesses that night be suspended immediately, sources said. The ministry’s instructions came after it received the report of an investigation it had ordered into the shocking case the nation woke up to on New Year.
The five drunk men had hit Shalini Singh’s scooty on New Year and as her body rolled under their car and got tangled in the undercarriage, they drove for 13 km, trying to dislodge the body. A postmortem examination showed the woman died of horrific impact injuries, her head fractured, and skin peeled off.
The police, who were on the alert in view of it being New Year’s eve, did not respond to multiple calls alerting them to the situation.
Amid massive public outrage, the Union home ministry had ordered a probe.
The investigation, conducted by senior police officer Shalini Singh, has found personnel in three PCR vans and two police pickets guilty of negligence.
Sources said the ministry has instructed that a showcause notice also be sent to the District Police in-charge. The officer should clarify what was the law-and-order situation in the area at the time. In absence of a satisfactory response, action should be taken against him as well, sources said.
The ministry has also advised that adequate lighting arrangements also be made in the area.
