In the case of a woman dying after being dragged by a car for 12 kms in Delhi, the preliminary autopsy report has showed no indication of sexual assault, according to Delhi Police. Sources told PTI there were no injury marks on her private parts.
Doctors of the Maulana Azad Medical College board who carried out the autopsy opined that the provisional cause of death was "shock and haemorrhage" as a result of pre-death injury "to the head, spine, left femur, and lower limbs".
"All injuries collectively can cause death in the ordinary course of nature. However, injury to the head, spine, long bone and other injuries can cause death independently and collectively in the ordinary course of nature. All injuries produced by blunt force impact and possible with vehicular accident and dragging," says their opinion in the preliminary report.
The Delhi Police said the full report will be received in due course of time. The doctors said they would be able to offer a final opinion after the receipt of chemical analysis and biological sample reports.
The deceased woman, identified as 20-year-old Anjali Singh, was on a scooter when she was hit by a car in the early hours of the New Year's Day. She was dragged by the car for around 12 kms from Sultanpuri to Kanjhawala in Delhi. Her naked body was found in Delhi's Kanjhawala area.
The case led to shock and outrage among people as well as the Delhi and Union governments, leading to the intervention of Delhi's Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Delhi Commission for Women (DCW).
The accused in the car are in custody and the Delhi Police is recording statements of witness. It's collecting CCTV footage to establish sequence of events at the time of the incident.
What we know so far of Sultanpuri incident?
The car hit the Anjali's scooter around 2 am on the New Year's Day in the Krishan Vihar area.
The accused kept driving the car even as Anjali was trapped under the car and was dragged for 12 kms.
The arrested accused have been identified as Deepak Khanna (26), Amit Khanna (25), Krishan (27), Mithun (26) and Manoj Mittal (27).
Deepak was driving the car and was drunk, as per India Today.
"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.
Earlier, 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.
Sultanpuri case investigation continues
The Delhi Police on Tuesday also recorded the statement of Anjali's female companion, who was riding pillion on scooter, and had fled the accident spot "out of fear".
The eyewitness' account will be important evidence in getting the accused punished and more CCTV footage has been recovered that could help establish the sequence of events on Sunday night, the police said.
All five accused were sent to three days in police custody on Monday.
The body was handed over to her family on Tuesday for cremation.
Delhi Police Special Commissioner Sagar Preet Hooda said they have found a woman who was accompanying the victim at the time of the incident. He said since she was scared after the accident, she left the victim and fled from the spot.
Police said the victim's friend did not speak about the accident with anyone else.
"So, now we have an eyewitness to the incident and she is cooperating with the police. We are getting her statement recorded under section 164 CrPC. This is a significant development in the incident. This will be important evidence for us to get the accused punished. Investigation is still underway. It is at the primary stage and multiple angles are being probed. We are hopeful of completing the investigation soon and we will ensure that the accused get the strictest punishment," said Hooda.
What has CCTV footage showed?
In a CCTV footage recovered by the police, the victim was seen leaving a hotel around 1.45 am after a New Year party. She was wearing a pink T-shirt and her friend a red one.
According to the footage, initially the victim was riding pillion on the scooter but then she swapped places with her friend.
The friend, police said, escaped with minor injuries and fled the spot, while the victim was stuck under the car.
Another CCTV footage surfaced on Tuesday which showed the victim and the friend fighting outside a hotel just hours before the accident.
Sources said that the two were partying with four or five others at the hotel.
The victim and her friend are seen in a CCTV footage going on a scooter and a car can be seen coming from the opposite direction. When the vehicle moves ahead, a shoe is left behind.
Sultanpuri case forensic probe
The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team has recovered the samples of the blood on the car and will match them with the blood samples found near Jaunti village, where the body was recovered.
"This will establish that the blood is of the victim only,"a source said.
Outrage over Delhi Police's lack of presence
There has been outrage over the fact that the woman was dragged for 12 kms and the Delhi Police was not on the stretch.
A delegation of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs met Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora on Tuesday and demanded the strictest punishment for those involved in the incident.
The AAP delegation, led by MLAs Saurabh Bhardwaj and Atishi, submitted a memorandum to Arora in which they demanded the dismissal of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer District) Harendra K Singh for allegedly shielding the accused. They also demanded the sacking of the police officers deployed on the route along which the woman was dragged.
"The accused have political links. The police should not buckle under political pressure. This should be treated as a rarest of rare case and the accused be given strictest punishment," read the memorandum.
The inquiry committee constituted by the police to look into lapses and measures to be taken by police inspected the 12-km-long stretch from Sultanpuri to Kanjhawala on which the woman was dragged.
A senior police officer said that as part of the inquiry, Singh with her team on Monday night visited the crime scene and inspected the stretch of road in outer Delhi, where the woman was dragged by a car after she got stuck under it.
According to sources, the team's primary responsibility is to do an analysis of the stretch and suggest improvements to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
It will also examine if all Standard Operating Procedures were followed by the police and whether they responded in time to the incident, and on the basis of the outcome, assign responsibility.
Reactions to the Sultanpuri incident
Delhi LG VK Saxena termed the incident "monstrous insensitivity" and said his head "hangs in shame".
He tweeted, "My head hangs in shame over the inhuman crime in Kanjhawla-Sultanpuri today morning and I am shocked at the monstrous insensitivity of the perpetrators. Have been monitoring with Commissioner of Delhi Police and the accused have been apprehended. All aspects are being thoroughly looked into.
"Even as every possible support/help and beyond, to the family of the victim will be ensured, I appeal to all to not resort to opportunistic scavenging. Let's together work towards a more responsible and sensitive society."
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the victim's family and assured that the government will appoint the best lawyer to fight the case.
Kejriwal said that he spoke to the victim's ailing mother and that his government will take care of her treatment.
Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party sought the dismissal of the DCP of the Outer District for allegedly shielding the accused.
The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) demanded the constitution of a high-level committee to chalk out a coordinated strategy to tackle crimes against women in the national capital.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has also sought a report on the Sultanpuri case, as per a report. The Delhi Police comes under the domain of Union Home Ministry.
(With PTI inputs)
