Cops Say Kanjhawala Accused 'Knew Body Was Under Car', Search on For 2 More Men

Police said the two new accused were not physically present during the incident but tried to "protect the accused."

Five days after the Kanjhawala accident, the Delhi police has revealed that it is conducting raids to arrest two more men in connection to the case.

On 1 January, a grey Baleno hit 20-year-old Anjali Singh's two-wheeler in outer Delhi's Sultanpuri, after which her entangled body stuck under the car got dragged for several kilometres.

Five men, in their mid 20s, were arrested and an FIR filed under sections pertaining to rash driving, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and death due to negligence.

According to the latest reports, Delhi court sends the five accused to police custody for four days.

On Thursday, 5 January, Delhi police’s Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Sagar Preet Hooda said, "We found contradictions in the accused's version. As per CCTV footgage and Call Detail Records (CDR), we found out that two more people were involved. Police teams are conducting raids to arrest them."

Here's What the Delhi Police Said About the New Accused:

On 1 January, the Delhi police had arrested Deepak Khanna, Amit Khanna, Manoj Mittal, Krishan and Mithun. Now the police is on the look out for two other accused, identified as Ashutosh and Ankush Khanna.

Special CP Hooda claimed:

• "Deepak had said he was driving the car but it was found out during interrogation that it was actually Amit who had driven the car."

• "These two people tried to hide the claim that Amit was the driver on the night of the incident."

• Special CP Hooda said that while the two new accused "were not physically present during the incident, they tried to spread misinformation, mislead the police, and protect the accused."

Highlighting role of the two new accused in the case, the Special CP Hooda claimed:

• "(New accused) Ankush who is the brother of Amit told the accused to (falsely) identify someone else as the driver -- as Amit did not have a license"

• "The owner of the car also knew who had taken the car and that it was not Deepak who took it but another accused."

No Connection Between Victim and Accused

Special CP Hooda said, "After the analysis of CCTV and CDR, we have not found any connection between the accused and the deceased."

On being asked if the victim was inebriated the night of the incident, as claimed by the eyewitness (Nidhi) to the media, Special CP Hooda stated:

• "Whatever statement was made was given to the media and not in court. The final forensic report will confirm the same but whether she had consumed alcohol or not is irrelevant to the case."

• He added that section 302 (murder) of the IPC has not yet been added in the case, however, "the accused were aware that there is a human body under the car," which is why IPC section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) fits the case."

• The police added, "We are exploring legal process to take this case to a fast track court."

The time of the incident was also established by the police. Hooda said:

"The incident took place between 2.04 am to 2.06 am. The body was found at around 4.15 am. The distance between the two points, where the incident took place and where the body was found is around 10-12 kms, but it is not possible to say for exactly how long the body was dragged."

Amid allegations of laxity in police activity, Hooda added, "We are also conducting an internal inquiry into the delay in the police PCR response. If there is any human error, disciplinary actions will be taken against those responsible."