BJP Worker, Driver, Hairdresser: Who Are the Accused in Delhi's Kanjhawala Case?

A 19-year-old woman in Delhi lost her life after being hit and dragged by a car in the early hours of 1 January.

The five accused in the Kanjhawala case.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

Reporter: Himanshi Dahiya

Video Producer: Aparna Singh

Video Editor: Harpal Rawat

One of the accused in the Delhi case, wherein a 19-year-old woman was killed as she was dragged by a car, is associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), sources told The Quint.

The accused, identified as 27-year-old Manoj Mittal, is a ration dealer and is affiliated with the party leadership in the Mangolpuri area, said a source in the Delhi Sarkari Ration Dealers Sangh.

The woman, Anjali Singh, was killed in outer Delhi's Kanjhawala area in the early hours of Sunday, 1 January, after she was mowed down by a car. All five occupants of the car – Mittal, Deepak Khanna (26), Amit Khanna (25), Krishan (27), and Mithun (27) – have since been arrested and sent to three days of police remand.

"Certain queries regarding sexual assault of Kanjhawala victim are being raised. I would like to clarify that postmortem of the victim is being conducted and based on their report and evidences, further action as made out will be taken [sic]."

Delhi Police Spokesperson

In a press conference on 2 January, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj also claimed that Mittal is a BJP member. He then accused Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena of 'hiding this information.'

Sharing photographs, Bhardwaj said it is ironic that right next to the Mangolpuri police station (where the case is registered) is a hoarding that has Mittal's photograph and identifies him as a BJP member.

The Other Accused

Among the other accused, Deepak Khanna is a driver in Gramin Sewa, while Amit Khanna is employed with the State Bank of India (SBI). Krishan works with the Spanish Culture Centre in Connaught Place and Mithun is a hairdresser, said DCP (Outer) Harender Kumar Singh.

They are all residents of the Sultanpuri area, said DCP Singh.

What Happened?

As per DCP Singh, the Kanjhawala police station received a call about the incident at 3.24 am from a person who had spotted the body being dragged by a Baleno car. The DCP added: 

"At about 4.11 am, a PCR call was again received at Kanjhawala police station as per which the body of a girl was lying on the road. In the area of Sultanpuri police station , the SHO, during night patrolling, had already noticed a scooty in accidental condition and this information was lodged in the police station at 3.53 am. With the scooty number, further investigation was conducted and it revealed to be belonging to the victim who had been found lying on the road in the area of Kanjhawala police station."

An FIR has been filed under Sections 279 (Driving or riding on a public way so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life), 304A (Causing death by negligence), and 304 (Punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The victim was working part-time in wedding events and was returning home from one such function when the incident took place, said the police.