Women dragging death case: Court sends 5 accused to police custody

NEW DELHI: A court here on Thursday extended by four days the police custody of five men accused of causing the death of a 20-year-old woman who was hit by a car and dragged a long distance underneath the vehicle in the national capital.

Metropolitan Magistrate Sanya Dalal allowed the Delhi police to have the accused in their custody for four days more for interrogation instead of their prayer for a five-day remand. "Police custody allowed for four days," the judge said.

Upon being asked about the reasons for seeking extension of police remand, the investigating officer said their further custody was required as police needed to establish the nearly 13-km-long route the accused had taken to traverse in two hours on the fateful night when the victim woman had got entangled under the vehicle after being hit.

"The long route has to be established…Starting at 7 pm, the accused travelled for around two hours," he said.

The IO also said the accused Amit was driving the car but another accused Deepak was ''planted'' as the vehicle's driver.

He informed the court that police had obtained disclosure statements of all accused. He said all of them were subjected to "sustained interrogation" over the last three days in custody.

Police have identified the petrol pump and eatery where the accused had stopped, the IO said, adding the Call Detail Records (CDRs) of the accused were also analysed.

The victim Anjali Singh (20) was killed in the early hours of the New Year after her scooter was hit by a car, which dragged her for about 12 kilometres. Her body with multiple injuries was found on the road in Kanjhawala.

The Sultanpuri police station has registered an FIR against Deepak Khanna (26), Amit Khanna (25), Krishan (27), Mithun (26) and Manoj Mittal for various offences under the Indian Penal Code, including criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, causing death by negligence and rash driving on public way.