In the wee hours of January 1, a girl named Anjali Singh died in a horrific road accident that took place in Kanjhawala, Outer Delhi. Five accused had been arrested so far. Delhi police Friday arrested the 6th accused, Ashutosh, the brother-in-law of the owner of the Baleno car that dragged 20-year-old Anjali Singh to her death.
Meanwhile, the search is on for the seventh accused, Ankush, accused of helping with the cover-up.
The police revealed that Ashutosh was arrested for giving false information to the police and trying to cover up the indecent. Ashutosh had reportedly lied about who was driving the car when the incident occurred. He had told the police that accused Deepak Khanna was on the driver’s wheels when the accident happened, which was untrue, said the police.
The owner of the vehicle, Lokesh, had given his car to his brother-in-law Ashutosh, who subsequently gave it to Amit Khanna. “He (Ashutosh) lied to police that Deepak took the vehicle from him and that he was driving the car,” a senior officer said.
The police said Amit Khanna was driving the car when it ran over Anjali Singh and not his relative Deepak as the accused had claimed during questioning.
The police said that during the investigation it came to the fore that Deepak Khanna was not even in the car when the incident happened. Deepak’s phone location and call records showed he was at home all day.
In fact, CCTV footage from outside Deepak Khanna’s house showed him talking on the phone and pacing up and down outside his home just after the incident took place. He was allegedly on the phone with the men in his car, talking about what had happened and discussing ways to cover up the crime.
Earlier, the police revealed that Deepak Khanna’s cousins and friends had urged him to tell the police that he was with them at the time of the accident as he was the only person with a driving licence.
“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,” a senior police officer had said.
“During interrogation, the accused gave contradictory statements. CCTV footage was checked, but it wasn’t clear who was driving. We found that Deepak’s phone location was at his house that night. During sustained interrogation, Deepak broke down and confessed,” said the officer.
It is now learnt that unlike what was earlier believed, there were four men in the car, and not five. The police said that the car took several u-turns to dislodge Anjali’s body. After getting rid of the body, the accused parked the car outside Ashutosh’s residence and fled in an autorickshaw.
Meanwhile, new CCTV evidence captured the massive murder cover-up, which showed car owner Ashutosh with the other accused two hours after the murder at 4:16 a.m. Ashutosh took the car keys from the accused. At 4:52, Ashutosh could be seen returning home after parking the Baleno car that killed Anjali.
Notably, on Thursday, 5th January 2023, the Delhi Police shared essential updates related to the case. The police had denied the possibility of any murder charges on the accused in this case. Police had also revealed that there are 7 charged in the case, and not just 5.
The Delhi Police has also shared the exact time of the accident. Hooda said that the incident took place between 2.04 AM and 2.06 AM. He said that the road where the accident took place leads to Haryana and continues for almost 10-12 km. However, how far the body was dragged is unknown now.
“There is nothing that indicates sexual harassment,” the official also said.
Meanwhile, deceased Anjali’s friend Nidhi, who was in the pillion seat at the time of the incident, on Tuesday said that the men knew the girl has gotten stuck under their car, but still, they kept dragging her.
While speaking to ANI, the eyewitness, said, “She was in a drunken state but insisted on driving the two-wheeler. After being hit by the car, she came under the car and got dragged with it. I was scared and went away and returned home, didn’t tell anything to anyone.”