Kanjhawala case: Anjali Singh was drunk, even fought with me: Friend

New Delhi: Two days after Anjali Singh was hit and dragged by a car in outer Delhi on New Year, her friend who was riding pillion with her and fled after the accident recorded her statement with police on Tuesday, even as a preliminary postmortem report of the Kanjhawala case victim indicated "no injury suggestive of sexual assault".

The mortal remains of 20-year-old Singh were cremated on Tuesday amid tight security.

Recalling the fateful night, Anjali Singh's friend, who was traced by the police after they examined the CCTV footage, said they had gone to meet some friends at a hotel on New Year eve and alleged that despite being 'drunk', the victim wanted to ride the scooter after the party.

Contrary to other eyewitness accounts, the victim's friend asserted that there was no music playing in the car that hit them and claimed that the driver was aware that Anjali was being dragged under the wheels.

Delhi Commission For Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal cautioned against victim shaming and demanded a probe into the friend's claims.

In her statement, Anjali's friend told the police that she had fled the accident spot "out of fear".

With the emergence of the eyewitness, police said that her account will be important evidence in getting the accused punished and more CCTV footage has been recovered that could help establish the sequence of events on Sunday night.

While public outrage simmered over the incident and the alleged apathy shown by the police initially, there was heavy police deployment during Anjali's funeral procession.

Teary-eyed family members and neighbours moved alongside the ambulance carrying her mortal remains from her residence to the crematorium.

Scores of people carrying banners that read "Anjali ko insaaf do (Give justice to Anjali)" also joined the funeral procession. They were accompanied by protesters who demanded that the accused be hanged.

Doctors of the MAMC board who carried out the autopsy opined that the provisional cause of death was "shock and haemorrhage as a result of antemortem injury to the head, spine, left femur and lower limbs".

"All injuries collectively can cause death in the ordinary course of nature. However, injury to the head, spine, long bone and other injuries can cause death independently and collectively in the ordinary course of nature," the doctors opined.

"All injuries produced by blunt force impact and possible with vehicular accident and dragging," the preliminary report said.

The doctors said they would be able to offer a final opinion after the receipt of the chemical analysis and biological sample reports.

Sagar Preet Hooda, Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), said the report indicates that there is "no injury suggestive of sexual assault", adding that the final report will be received in due course.

Talking to PTI, Anjali Singh's uncle said they were satisfied with the report.

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. Her body was found in the Kanjhawala area.

The accused had first gone to Haryana's Murthal for a dhaba food to mark the New Year. They were drunk at the time of the incident and hit Anjali's scooter while they were returning.

Anjali Singh's friend, who did not wish to be named, said they had gone to meet her friends at a hotel on Saturday night.

"Anjali Singh was drunk and even fought with me. We left the hotel at around 1.45 am (Sunday) and she wanted to drive the scooter but I insisted that I will drive. We left and initially I rode the two-wheeler but she threatened to jump from the vehicle if I did not allow her to ride. She kept saying, 'It is my scooter and I will drive'," she claimed while speaking to PTI.

Following Anjali's repeated threats, the friend claimed, she decided to let Anjali drive the scooter.

"I gave her the scooter and as soon as we left, we were about to collide with a truck. I applied brakes while sitting behind, and as we moved ahead, a car hit our scooter and we were thrown.

"I fell on the side but Anjali was stuck under the wheels of the car that did not even stop and was being driven at a high speed," she recalled.

Earlier in the day, during a press conference, Hooda said that they have found a woman who was accompanying the victim at the time of the incident.

Since she was scared after the accident, she left the victim and fled the spot, he said.

In CCTV footage recovered by the police, the victim was seen leaving a hotel around 1.45 am after a New Year party. She was wearing a pink T-shirt and her friend a red one.

Another CCTV footage surfaced on Tuesday which showed the victim and the friend fighting outside a hotel just hours before the accident.

Police said that the two were partying with four or five others at the hotel.

Fresh CCTV footage of the night Anjali died showed the scooter passing through a narrow street and then seconds later a car going the other way, leaving a lone shoe behind.

The FSL team has recovered the samples of the blood on the car and will match them with the blood samples found near Jaunti village, where the body was recovered. "This will establish that the blood is of the victim only," a source said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the victim's family and assured that the government will appoint the "best lawyer" to fight the case.

The chief minister said that he spoke to her ailing mother and that his government will take care of her treatment.

Aam Aadmi Party sought the dismissal of the DCP of the Outer District for allegedly shielding the accused.