‘Not an accident but murder’ — relatives of Sultanpuri victim, angry locals demand justice
New Delhi: There is a sense of anger and outrage in Sultanpuri as family members and locals are yet to come to terms with the gruesome death of a 20-year-old woman who was dragged by a car for several kilometres in the early hours of New Year in outer Delhi.
Massive protests broke out in front of the Sultanpuri police station Monday, seeking justice for the victim, Anjali Singh, whose death has numbed the national capital. Anjali was killed after her scooty was hit by the car which then dragged her from Sultanpuri to Kanjhawala.
Ironically, Anjali was heading home after work Sunday night, when the Delhi Police had deployed 18,000 personnel across the city to keep a vigil during the New Year celebrations.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has directed Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora to conduct a detailed inquiry and submit a report as soon as possible. The victim’s post-mortem was done at the Maulana Azad Medical College and the report will be submitted Tuesday.
Locals and relatives of Anjali gathered outside the police station demanding strict action against all the accused. The station became a ‘chhawni‘ (camp) as hundreds of personnel were deployed and additional personnel from a central police force called for to handle the situation.
Locals vent their anger on police
‘Ladki ke sath aisa kiya gaya, police ne kuch bhi nahi kia,’ (‘They have done this to a girl and police did not do anything’), fumed angry locals gathered outside the police station. Anjali, a resident of Aman Vihar, was a beautician by profession.
“This is not an accident but a murder, so Section 302 of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) must be invoked on all the accused,“ Pramod Kumar, one of Anjali’s relatives told ThePrint. “She was the sole breadwinner in her family. She is survived by her parents and three siblings.”
The victim’s family stayed at the police station for a long time. After that they were sent home in a car. “We have talked to the victim’s family and all action is being taken,” Assistant Commissioner of Police Jaipal Singh told ThePrint.
“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 will be conducted by a board of doctors. Section 304 (culpable homicide) of the IPC has also been added to the FIR so that the accused does not get bail easily,” said Harendra K. Singh, DCP Outer District.
The arrested were identified as Deepak Khanna (26), an auto driver, Amit Khanna (25), a bank employee in Uttam Nagar, Krishan (27), an employee of the Spanish Culture Centre in Connaught Place, Mithun (26), a hairdresser at a salon and Manoj Mittal (27), a ration dealer in Sultanpuri.
The Rohini court Monday sent all the accused to three-day police custody.
The five were booked under Sections 279, 304 and 120B of the IPC on charges of rash driving and causing death by negligence.
‘Hang the culprits’
“It was 3:20 am…I was standing outside the shop when I heard a loud noise from a vehicle about 100 metres away. First I thought it was a tire burst. As soon as the car moved, I saw a body being dragged. I informed the police immediately,” Deepak Dahiya, an eyewitness of the Kanjhawala incident, told news agency ANI.
Anger was palpable on the ground. “The police are not taking appropriate action against the culprits because they are rasookhvalas (influential people). In logo ne uske sath galat kaam kiya hai. Sabko faansi honi chahiye (These people have wronged her. Hang all of them),” a woman said.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed that one of the accused, Mittal, was a local BJP leader. Mittal’s picture was allegedly found on the posters pasted during the recent local elections. People of Sultanpuri tore those posters in anger. A few posters of Mittal are still on the walls near the Sultanpuri police station.
“Each and every angle is being looked at. The detailed investigation will reveal more,” Delhi Police Special CP (Law and Order) S.P. Hooda said. “A medical board is being constituted to further investigate and submit a report. Multiple teams have been formed to investigate this case. Police are in touch with the victim’s family.”
Politics takes over
The ruling AAP accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Delhi Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) Vinai Kumar Saxena of protecting the accused and demanded the immediate dismissal of Saxena from the Raj Niwas.
“What happened to our sister in Kanjhawala is very shameful. I hope that the culprits will be punished severely,” Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted. “Spoke to Hon’ble L-G on Kanjhawala incident. Requested him to take exemplary action against culprits, strictest sections of IPC shud be slapped against them. No leniency shud be showed even if they have high political connections. He assured that he will take strong action (sic),” he said in another tweet.
On his part, Saxena also came out with a statement saying his “head hangs in shame”. “…I am shocked at the monstrous insensitivity of the perpetrators. Have been monitoring with
@CPDelhi and the accused have been apprehended. All aspects are being thoroughly looked into,” Saxena tweeted.
Later, AAP workers gathered outside the official residence of Saxena to register their protest. (The Print)
