Delhi 'hit and run': Time for a murder case?

The accused may be booked under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (culpable homicide amounting to murder) as they crushed and dragged the victim for at least 14 kilometres with malafide intention.

New Delhi, Jan 06: The horrific Kanjhawala hit-and-run case continues to get murkier. There is growing pressure on the Delhi police to invoke charges of murder against the five-accused in the Sultanpuri accident case who allegedly dragged 20-year-old Anjali to death under their car for several kilometers.

According to the latest developments, eyewitness Nidhi also continues to remain under lens, as Anjali's family believes it is Nidhi, who led her into all of this. Nidhi cannot be an eyewitness but she has to be made an accused, claimed the Anjali's family.

But, let us understand how many charges and counter charges are coming through in the case.

Narrating the sequence of events on the fateful night, eyewitness and Anjali's friend Nidhi said that she had a fight with Anjali over riding the two-wheeler outside the hotel where they met their friends and attended a New Year party. Anjali was drunk and threatened to jump off the moving two-wheeler if she was not allowed to drive her scooter, her friend claimed.

"We left the hotel at around 1.45 am. She (Anjali) wanted to ride the scooty but I said no I will ride it. After we left and were on the move, Anjali said she would jump from the two-wheeler if she was not allowed to drive. It is my scooty and I will drive it she told me," the friend claimed."

After being hit by the car, she came under the car, got dragged with it. The men in the car knew the woman was stuck under their car but they did not stop and deliberately killed her. I was scared and went away from there, didn't tell anything to anyone," Nidhi, the main eyewitness said.

The counter-charge

The family doctor of Anjali rejected her friend Nidhi's claims and demanded that she should be charged with murder.

The family doctor of the victim also rejected Nidhi's claims that Anjali was heavily drunk on the night of the accident, saying the autopsy report did not find any trace of alcohol in her stomach. Anjali's mother told reporters that her daughter has never drunk alcohol in her life.

''I never seen or heard of Nidhi. She never visited our home. She is lying. My daughter never consumed alcohol. She never came home drunk. Nidhi is lying, she is lying and should be charged with murder'' Rekha Devi said.

New Twist: Anjali, Nidhi fought over money

A friend of the victim Anjali Singh on Friday claimed that the deceased and her friend Nidhi had a fight over money before they left the hotel on the scooter on the night of the accident.

"Both were partying there (hotel). Some other friends were also there. A little later, they started quarrelling. Nidhi asked for her money, and Anjali asked for her keys. They then had a physical altercation," he said.

"We separated them. I told Anjali to calm down. Nidhi went downstairs and created a scene. The hotel staff told us about it. Anjali went downstairs to calm her down. They had a quarrel downstairs. By the time we went there, they had left on a scooty," Naveen added.

7th accused surrenders

The seventh accused in the Delhi hit and run case surrendered before the Delhi police. The accused was identified as Ankush Khanna and he surrendered before the police officials at the Sultanpuri Police Station.

During the ivestigation, it was derived that there were two more suspects involved in the crime, Ashutosh and Ankush who were trying to save the accused.

Amit Khanna, another accused involved in the crime, did not own a driving license, and he informed Ankush Khanna about the whole incident. After knowing this, Ankush asked Deepak, a Gramin Seva driver, to let the police know that he was there behind the wheel when the gory incident took place.

After the incident, five men were already arrested by the police, Deepak Khanna, Amit Khanna, Krishan, Mithun, and Manoj Mittal.

The accused in the horrifying Delhi hit-and-run case have been charged with death by negligence. They have claimed they were not aware the body was stuck under their car. But an eyewitness and the victim's friend have alleged that they were aware of it and drove away despite hearing the victim's screams. Now, the question is, is it time to slap murder charge against the accused in Delhi hit-and-run-case?

It is important to note that the Delhi police have found no evidence to prove that it was a murder rather than a case of accident. For any murder - motive and intention is important. The critical point here is, the police have failed to establish any connection with the accused and the victim so far.

However, experts say the accused may be booked under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (culpable homicide amounting to murder) as they crushed and dragged the victim for at least 14 kilometres with malafide intention.