- Dilnawaz Pasha in Delhi and Cherilan Mulan in Mumbai
- BBC
Protesters outside a police station in Delhi
India is experiencing a state of shock after the death of a twenty-year-old girl in the city of Delhi, following a collision with a car.
It was reported that the woman was returning from work in the early hours of the new year when her bicycle was hit by a car.
Police say the driver of the car, which was carrying four passengers in addition to the driver, continued for about a kilometer dragging the woman along.
Several footage from surveillance cameras appeared showing the woman under the car.
Although road accidents are common in India, killing hundreds of thousands of people every year, this horrific accident has piqued the interest of people across the country and received extensive media coverage.
The Indian Express reported that the woman’s body had been dragged across the road for about an hour and that witnesses had called the police at least five times before their arrival.
The occurrence of this incident on New Year’s Day, at a time when thousands of police officers are deployed on the streets, raises many questions.
The five men who were in the car were arrested and have not yet released any statements.
The young woman’s family said they were shocked as authorities continued their investigation after the federal interior ministry called for an immediate investigation.
“My daughter was playful and loved posting videos on Instagram,” Umm Al Daha told BBC India.
The girl was the sole breadwinner in her family, as her father died years ago, while her mother had to stop working due to illness.
image copyright Getty Images
The mother said the family does not even have the expenses for funeral rites.
The family of the dead girl claimed she was sexually assaulted, because her body was without clothes when it was found, but police said the criminal report did not confirm this claim.
“All the injuries were caused by the body being violently dragged into the vehicle and the forensic report states that there are no injuries that could be linked to sexual assaults,” a senior Delhi Police official said in a statement.
Sagar Beit Hooda said the cause of death was “shock and bleeding due to injuries to the head, spine, left femur and lower legs.”
Police said they found another woman who was in the back seat of the motorbike and had fled in a panic, and is now assisting police in their investigation.
“The screams were lost in the loud music.”
Police said the investigation began after receiving two calls Sunday morning, one of which reported that a “Maruti” car had towed the body of a woman on the road, while another caller reported that there was a body lying in street north of Delhi.
Police found the car that caused the crash after an extensive search campaign and arrested the suspects.
The four men were charged with murder and negligence leading to their deaths.
The defendants had borrowed the car from a friend to drive on New Year’s Eve, according to police, adding that the defendants were horrified after they ran over the young woman on the bicycle and quickly fled without realizing they were dragging the woman’s body with their cars.
The incident sparked political differences
Police said they will accompany the accused to the scene of the accident to verify his claims and that a team of forensic experts will examine the car.
Officials also said they would use a puppet to depict the incident.
The defendants said they did not hear the victim’s screams because they were playing loud music inside the car.
It was reported that the men were drunk.
political motivations
Reactions to the incident took a political turn in the capital: Delhi’s ruling Ami Adami party staged protests against the federal government over what they called the fragile security situation in the city.
The party does not control the city’s police, which report to the federal government.
Party members protested outside the federally appointed police chief’s office on Monday, demanding his resignation over the incident.
Speaking to the media, AMI spokesman Adami Saurabh Bhardwaj said the five accused are members of the ruling Bharatiya Janat party.
Prime Minister Arvin Kyrjewa had tweeted calling for deterrent measures to be taken against the accused, adding that they should not be tolerated, no matter how important their political ties are.
Home Minister Amit Shah did not respond to Ami Adami’s criticism but reportedly spoke to the police commissioner and called for an urgent investigation into the incident.
Meanwhile, Saxena said she was overseeing the investigation.
He had previously said he was shocked by the brutality of the perpetrators and felt ashamed.
