'Never heard of Nidhi, murder charges should be slapped on her'

NEW DELHI: Nidhi is lying and should be charged with murder, Anjali Singh's family said on Wednesday and claimed they had never seen or heard of the 'friend' who was with 20-year-old killed when she was dragged under a car.

Giving her narrative of what had happened that night, Nidhi had said Anjali was drunk and insisted on driving the two-wheeler back from the hotel where they had rung in the New Year. 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,'' Rekha Devi said.

Anjali was killed in the early hours of the New Year after her scooter was hit by a car, which dragged her for 12 kilometres. Her body was found in outer Delhi's Kanjhawala. Five men who were allegedly in the car have been booked for culpable homicide among other sections. All five accused were sent to a three-day police custody on Monday.

Anjali's uncle raised questions over the statements made by Nidhi, saying why did she not inform anyone about the incident. ''She is lying. Why did she not inform the police and her family. Why did she not come to the police. We are satisfied with police probe but they should take strict action. This is not an accident but a murder. Section 302 should be slapped on Nidhi,'' said Prem.

Anjali's family doctor Bhupesh said this was not a normal murder.

''According to the autopsy report, there was food inside the stomach. If she would have been drunk, the report would have mentioned the presence of a chemical. But the report says only food has been detected (inside the stomach),'' he told reporters.

''A murder is considered sadistic when a victim is brutally tortured before death. As per the autopsy report, she suffered 40 injuries,'' the doctor said.

Nidhi had earlier said the five men accused of dragging the woman under their car killed her ''deliberately'' as they kept on driving despite knowing that she was stuck under the vehicle.

Recalling the fateful night, Nidhi, who was traced by the police after they examined the CCTV footage, said no music was playing in the car that hit them and claimed that the driver was aware that Anjali was being dragged under the wheels.

Nidhi had said after the impact, Anjali got stuck under the car and was dragged by the vehicle, with its occupants not once trying to slow down or save the woman.

She had said she did not inform anyone about the accident as she was scared and feared that she would be blamed for it.