Delhi: Tensions Flare In Wake Of Brutal Murder Of 20-Year-Old Woman, Dragged By Car

In a shocking incident, a 20-year-old woman in Delhi was dragged by a car for kilometres at a stretch. She was allegedly hit by the car containing five men on the night of 1 January at New Delhi’s Sultanpuri. 

Several eye-witness accounts have surfaced which saw the car driving recklessly with the woman’s head hanging. After one and a half hours, the body fell from under the car. The police have arrested the five accused, even as the public anger is demanding accountability for the heinous act. 

Protests broke out in Sultanpuri as local residents accused the police of attempting to conceal a rape case by treating it as an accident.

An eyewitness, Deepak, claimed that he called the police and chased the car for several kilometers after seeing the victim's body stuck under it. Another witness, a food delivery worker, reported seeing the victim's head at the back of the car when it made a U-turn after encountering police barricades.

Taking cognisance of the matter, the Delhi LG, V.K. Saxena tweeted that he is monitoring the investigation with Delhi Police and all aspects are thoroughly looked into. 

He appealed to not resort to “opportunistic scavenging”. 

Staging protest outside Raj Niwas, AAP MLA Atishi alleged that the incident has exposed the Delhi Police and the LG.

AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj claimed that one of the accused in the case, Manoj Mittal, is a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and that a hoarding with his picture hangs outside the local police station where he and his friends are being held. 

Delhi BJP's media cell head, Harish Khurana, has stated that the accused have already been arrested and that whoever is guilty should be given the harshest punishment, regardless of their political party affiliation.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who made his first public appearance after finishing one-week Vipassana course, demanded death penalty for the accused in what he described as "rarest of the rare crimes".

Meanwhile, victim's autopsy is being carried out at the premises of the Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) under the supervision of a medical board.

(with inputs from PTI)