Sultanpuri accident: Accused had borrowed car hours before incident

New Delhi: Police on Monday said the woman who died after her two-wheeler was hit by a car in outer Delhi was dragged 12 km from Sultanpuri to Kanjhawala under the vehicle and a medical board has been constituted to conduct the post-mortem.

According to the FIR filed in the case, the five accused, who have been arrested, had borrowed the car hours before the incident which took place around 2 am on Sunday.

Deepak Khanna and Amit Khanna took the car from their friend Ashutosh and later left the vehicle at his residence in accidental condition. The two told Ashutosh they had drinks, and that the car met with an accident with a scooty in Krishan Vihar area, the FIR sates, adding they later fled towards Kanjhawala.

Police, however, said their medical report is still awaited.

Police found the scooter in accident condition in Krishan Vihar, Sultanpuri area. The FIR states that the Kanjhawala police station received three PCR calls that the naked body of a woman was found near Hanuman Mandir, Jonti village.

A sub-inspector from Kanjhawala police station contacted one of the callers and found out that a grey Boleno car was involved in the incident, following which police reached Budh Vihar, Phase-1 where the owner of the vehicle, Lokesh, was traced.

He stated that his car was with his brother-in-law Ashutosh, a resident of Rohini Sector-1, according to the FIR.

Ashutosh further stated that his friend Deepak and Amit took the car from him on Saturday around 7 pm and later left the vehicle at his residence in accidental condition on Sunday around 5 am.

After the police arrived at his place, Ashutosh called Deepak and Amit.

Deepak told the sub-inspector that he was driving the car and Manoj Mittal, another accused, was sitting next to him. Mithun, Krishan and Amit were in the rear seat, the FIR said.

"In Krishan Vihar, they met with an accident with a scooter on which a woman was sitting. The woman fell off the scooter. They got scared and fled towards Kanjhawala," the FIR said.

When they stopped the vehicle near Jonti village on Kanjhawala Road, they found the woman, who was sitting on the scooter, under the car. They got scared and left the victim there. Later, they went to Ashutosh's home, parked the car and proceeded towards their respective residences, the FIR added.

Addressing a press conference here, Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Sagar Preet Hooda said fresh charges could be added against the five accused arrested in connection with the case on the basis of the post-mortem report.

The accused have been booked on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, causing death by negligence and criminal conspiracy, according to police.

"The accused will be taken to the scene of the crime to verify their version of events. The timeline of events will be established on the basis of CCTV footage and digital evidence," Hooda told reporters.

"The forensic examination of the vehicle is also being done," he said.

The victim's family is being updated about the investigation and has been assured that the police will gather all evidence to ensure that the accused get the strictest punishment, the officer said.

"We are taking assistance from forensic and legal teams. Several teams have been formed which are investigating the case. Police will try to collect all the evidence, including physical evidence, oral evidence and CCTV-based evidence, during the probe and will be produce them before the court," a senior police officer said.

Sanjeev Gupta, the head of crime scene management division at FSL, said their teams on Monday examined the the vehicles and spots.

"Our two specialised teams of eight members inspected the vehicles, the places where the body was found and where the damaged scooter was found," Gupta said.

Sources said that the FSL teams have found blood traces from where the body was recovered and from the lower portion of the car.

"Certain queries regarding sexual assault of Kanjhawala victim are being raised. I would like to clarify that post-mortem of the victim is being conducted by board of doctors and based on their report and evidence, further action as made out will be taken," Delhi Police Spokesperson Suman Nalwa said.

According to the sources, the accused told police that they had gone to Murthal on the New Year eve and were returning when the incident happened.

A video footage is being circulated on social media where police are seen throwing reporters out of the police station area and later closed the gate.

In a tweet in Hindi, Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora said, "The case of the death of a girl on a road in Kanjhawala area of outer Delhi is extremely tragic. All five main accused have been arrested. At present, many of our teams are engaged in investigating the incident. Delhi Police is in constant touch with the family members of the deceased and providing all assistance to them." In another tweet, he said, "We are with them (the victim's family) in this hour of grief. I want to assure all of you that according to the facts found in the investigation, we will set an example by taking the strictest legal action so that such incidents do not happen again." A video purportedly showing the woman's body without clothes and broken legs has surfaced on social media.

The footage has led to claims that the victim was raped and killed but police said it was an accident.