‘Accused aware of victim’s body being dragged, they could see it’

New Delhi: The prosecution told a city court on Monday that the five occupants of the car, which hit and dragged a 20-year-old woman to death, were aware that her body was trapped under the vehicle and they could see it.

Metropolitan Magistrate Sanya Dalal, who remanded six accused in the case to 14 days’ judicial custody, expressed displeasure over the delay in obtaining CCTV footages of the incident in which Anjali Singh was killed in the early hours of the new year day after being dragged underneath the car for 12 km.

Upon being asked about the findings from the custodial interrogation of the accused, the IO said six new CCTV footages were obtained, accused persons confronted with each other, and the route of the car and timeline of the incident established.

He said in one clip, two of the occupants could be seen getting down and inspecting the vehicle to check if something was trapped underneath. It was at variance with their earlier claim that no one had alighted from the car to see if something was stuck under the vehicle.

“Two persons got down and inspected what was stuck in the wheels. They were well aware of what was stuck ,” Additional public prosecutor Atul Srivastava said. The judge then asked whether the vehicle’s occupants could see that the body was being dragged, to which the APP replied in the affirmative.

The APP, however, did not disclose the identity of the two accused in the open court proceedings.

Expressing displeasure over the delay in obtaining CCTV footage, the judge said: “Why can’t the CCTV footage be obtained in one go? Why are you (the prosecution) waiting? Will you do it after it gets tampered?”

The judge also asked the IO about the number of CCTV cameras on the entire route. The IO told the court the footages from all cameras installed on the way are being analysed.

The prosecution also informed the court that around 20 witnesses had recorded their statements and a new witness, who was around 100 metres away from the spot of the accident, has joined the investigation.

On Monday, accused Ashutosh Bhardwaj filed a bail application which was posted for hearing on Tuesday.

Opposing the bail prayer, the APP said Bhardwaj had given his car to another co-accused who did not possess a driving licence.

Meanwhile, the family of Kanjhawala case victim Anjali Singh has alleged that someone broke into their house in Karan Vihar here and stole an LED TV, among other things, while they were away, police said on Monday.

Singh’s family members, who have been staying with a relative since her death, were informed about the theft by their neighbours on Monday morning, they said.

They expressed apprehension that Nidhi, who was riding pillion on Singh’s scooter at the time of the accident, and the accused in the case could be behind the theft.

Singh was killed in the early hours of the New Year after her scooter was hit by a car which dragged her for 12 km from Sultanpuri to Kanjhawala. Nidhi fell to the side and fled the spot after the accident because she was “scared”.

Singh’s family reported the theft at Aman Vihar police station at 8:30 am. A police team immediately reached the spot and found the lock on the door of the house broken, the police said.

According to the complaint, an LED TV, some clothes and utensils were stolen from Singh’s house, he said. A case has been registered, the officer said.