Delhi ‘hit and run’: Time for a murder case?

India

oi-Deepika S

The
accused
may
be
booked
under
section
302
of
the
Indian
Penal
Code
(culpable
homicide
amounting
to
murder)
as
they
crushed
and
dragged
the
victim
for
at
least
14
kilometres
with
malafide
intention.

New
Delhi,
Jan
06:
The
horrific
Kanjhawala
hit-and-run
case
continues
to
get
murkier.
There
is
growing
pressure
on
the
Delhi
police
to
invoke
charges
of
murder
against
the
five-accused
in
the
Sultanpuri
accident
case
who
allegedly
dragged
20-year-old
Anjali
to
death
under
their
car
for
several
kilometers.

According
to
the
latest
developments,
eyewitness
Nidhi
also
continues
to
remain
under
lens,
as
Anjali’s
family
believes
it
is
Nidhi,
who
led
her
into
all
of
this.
Nidhi
cannot
be
an
eyewitness
but
she
has
to
be
made
an
accused,
claimed
the
Anjali’s
family.

But,
let
us
understand
how
many
charges
and
counter
charges
are
coming
through
in
the
case.

Narrating
the
sequence
of
events
on
the
fateful
night,
eyewitness
and
Anjali’s
friend
Nidhi
said
that
she
had
a
fight
with
Anjali
over
riding
the
two-wheeler
outside
the
hotel
where
they
met
their
friends
and
attended
a
New
Year
party.
Anjali
was
drunk
and
threatened
to
jump
off
the
moving
two-wheeler
if
she
was
not
allowed
to
drive
her
scooter,
her
friend
claimed.

“We
left
the
hotel
at
around
1.45
am.
She
(Anjali)
wanted
to
ride
the
scooty
but
I
said
no
I
will
ride
it.
After
we
left
and
were
on
the
move,
Anjali
said
she
would
jump
from
the
two-wheeler
if
she
was
not
allowed
to
drive.
It
is
my
scooty
and
I
will
drive
it
she
told
me,”
the
friend
claimed.”

After
being
hit
by
the
car,
she
came
under
the
car,
got
dragged
with
it.
The
men
in
the
car
knew
the
woman
was
stuck
under
their
car
but
they
did
not
stop
and
deliberately
killed
her.
I
was
scared
and
went
away
from
there,
didn’t
tell
anything
to
anyone,”
Nidhi,
the
main
eyewitness
said.

The
counter-charge

The
family
doctor
of
Anjali
rejected
her
friend
Nidhi’s
claims
and
demanded
that
she
should
be
charged
with
murder.

The
family
doctor
of
the
victim
also
rejected
Nidhi’s
claims
that
Anjali
was
heavily
drunk
on
the
night
of
the
accident,
saying
the
autopsy
report
did
not
find
any
trace
of
alcohol
in
her
stomach.
Anjali’s
mother
told
reporters
that
her
daughter
has
never
drunk
alcohol
in
her
life.

”I
never
seen
or
heard
of
Nidhi.
She
never
visited
our
home.
She
is
lying.
My
daughter
never
consumed
alcohol.
She
never
came
home
drunk.
Nidhi
is
lying,
she
is
lying
and
should
be
charged
with
murder” Rekha
Devi
said.

New
Twist:
Anjali,
Nidhi
fought
over
money

A
friend
of
the
victim
Anjali
Singh
on
Friday
claimed
that
the
deceased
and
her
friend
Nidhi
had
a
fight
over
money
before
they
left
the
hotel
on
the
scooter
on
the
night
of
the
accident.

“Both
were
partying
there
(hotel).
Some
other
friends
were
also
there.
A
little
later,
they
started
quarrelling.
Nidhi
asked
for
her
money,
and
Anjali
asked
for
her
keys.
They
then
had
a
physical
altercation,”
he
said.

“We
separated
them.
I
told
Anjali
to
calm
down.
Nidhi
went
downstairs
and
created
a
scene.
The
hotel
staff
told
us
about
it.
Anjali
went
downstairs
to
calm
her
down.
They
had
a
quarrel
downstairs.
By
the
time
we
went
there,
they
had
left
on
a
scooty,”
Naveen
added.

7th
accused
surrenders

The
seventh
accused
in
the
Delhi
hit
and
run
case
surrendered
before
the
Delhi
police.
The
accused
was
identified
as
Ankush
Khanna
and
he
surrendered
before
the
police
officials
at
the
Sultanpuri
Police
Station.

During
the
ivestigation,
it
was
derived
that
there
were
two
more
suspects
involved
in
the
crime,
Ashutosh
and
Ankush
who
were
trying
to
save
the
accused.

Amit
Khanna,
another
accused
involved
in
the
crime,
did
not
own
a
driving
license,
and
he
informed
Ankush
Khanna
about
the
whole
incident.
After
knowing
this,
Ankush
asked
Deepak,
a
Gramin
Seva
driver,
to
let
the
police
know
that
he
was
there
behind
the
wheel
when
the
gory
incident
took
place.

After
the
incident,
five
men
were
already
arrested
by
the
police,
Deepak
Khanna,
Amit
Khanna,
Krishan,
Mithun,
and
Manoj
Mittal.

The
accused
in
the
horrifying
Delhi
hit-and-run
case
have
been
charged
with
death
by
negligence.
They
have
claimed
they
were
not
aware
the
body
was
stuck
under
their
car.
But
an
eyewitness
and
the
victim’s
friend
have
alleged
that
they
were
aware
of
it
and
drove
away
despite
hearing
the
victim’s
screams.
Now,
the
question
is,
is
it
time
to
slap
murder
charge
against
the
accused
in
Delhi
hit-and-run-case?

It
is
important
to
note
that
the
Delhi
police
have
found
no
evidence
to
prove
that
it
was
a
murder
rather
than
a
case
of
accident.
For
any
murder
–
motive
and
intention
is
important.
The
critical
point
here
is,
the
police
have
failed
to
establish
any
connection
with
the
accused
and
the
victim
so
far.

However,
experts
say
the
accused
may
be
booked
under
section
302
of
the
Indian
Penal
Code
(culpable
homicide
amounting
to
murder)
as
they
crushed
and
dragged
the
victim
for
at
least
14
kilometres
with
malafide
intention.