Woman dies after being dragged for 4 km by car in Delhi

NEW DELHI: In a shocking incident, a 20-year-old woman died after her scooty was hit by a car and her naked body was dragged for around four kilometres in outer Delhi's Sultanpuri on Sunday, police said.

Five men travelling in the Maruti Baleno have been apprehended, they said.

Meanwhile, a purported video of the woman's body without clothes and broken legs made rounds on social media. PTI could not independently verify the veracity of the video.

The footage also led to claims that the victim was raped and murdered, but the police called it an accident.

The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has also issued a notice to police in the matter.

According to police, an information was received at 3.24 am in Kanjhawala police station (Rohini district) that a body was tied to a car going towards Qutubgarh area.

The body was sent to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial hospital, Mangolpuri for post-mortem, they said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer) Harendra Kumar Singh said the victim's leg got entangled in one of the wheels of the car and she was dragged for around four kilometres.

“A case under IPC sections 279 (rash driving) and 304-A (causing death by negligence) has been registered against Deepak Khanna (26), Amit Khanna (25), Krishan (27), Mithun (26) and Manoj Mittal,” he said.

“While Deepak is a driver, Amit deals with SBI cards in Uttam Nagar, Krishan works at Connaught Place, Mithun works as a hair dresser in Naraina and Mittal works as a food dealer in Sultanpuri,” he said.

Sources said the accused did not know that the victim was being dragged by their car. Later, when they got to know about it, they got scared. They then removed the body from the vehicle and fled away.

Police said blood sample of the car driver has been preserved to examine whether he was under the influence of alcohol or not.

The victim used to work part-time in marriages and other functions. When the incident happened, she was returning home from one such function, they added.

Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal said she has issued summons to Delhi Police in connection with the incident.

"A girl was dragged for several kilometres by a car driven by inebriated men. Her body was found without clothes on the road. This is a very scary incident. I am issuing summons to Delhi Police to appear before the panel. What were the security arrangements on the occasion of New Year?," she tweeted.

Meanwhile, police debunked theories of the incident being a rape case.

"False and frivolous media reports of the incident being a rape-murder case are being circulated,” a police officer said.