The brutal death of a 20-year-old woman in Delhi, the capital of India, on January 1 has shaken the country.
Media reports said the woman, an event manager, was returning from work on the morning of January 1 when her scooter collided with a car.
Police say the driver of the car, which had four other passengers, drove for miles dragging the woman’s body.
Several CCTV videos have emerged showing the body under the car.
What has happened so far?
Police said the search operation for the vehicle was launched on Sunday morning after receiving two calls – one about a woman being dragged by a Maruti Baleno car, and the other after the woman’s body was found in a north Delhi car. It was lying on the road.
They arrested the accused and recovered the car after searching.
Senior police officer Sagar Preet Hooda said that the accused have been charged with culpable homicide and causing death by negligence.
Police said that the accused had borrowed a car from a friend to drive him between December 31 and January 1.
He further said that the accused left the dead body on the road and fled from the spot.
The accused in police custody have not given any statement yet.
Police have said they will be taken to the scene to “verify their version of events” and the car will be examined by a team of forensic experts.
Authorities also said they would use a dummy to corroborate the accused men’s claim that they did not hear the victim’s screams because they were playing loud music in the car.
What do the families of the deceased have to say?
Relatives of the victim – who was the sole breadwinner of her family – have claimed that she was sexually assaulted before she was killed.
The woman’s mother questioned why the body was found naked, while her uncle claimed that the body’s condition “indicated that she had been sexually assaulted,” JEE News reported.
On Monday, local residents and the victim’s family protested outside the Sultanpuri police station, demanding a thorough investigation into the case and justice for the victim.
However, police officials have not confirmed that the woman was sexually assaulted.
“There are false and frivolous media reports that the incident is a case of rape and murder,” PTI news agency quoted a police officer as saying.
The body of the woman was sent to Delhi’s Maulana Azad Medical College for post-mortem on Monday. A medical board has been constituted for post-mortem. Police say that on the basis of the post-mortem report, fresh charges can be filed against the accused.
Politics on death
The issue has sparked political controversy in the national capital as well.
The Aam Aadmi Party, which rules Delhi, has been protesting against the federal government over what it calls lax security in the city. AAP has no control over the city’s police force as it reports to the federal home ministry.
On Monday, party members protested outside Lt Governor VK Saxena’s office, demanding his resignation over the issue.
The federal government appoints the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.
Speaking to the media, AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhadwarj also alleged that one of the five accused is a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and accused Mr. Saxena and police officials of “deliberately concealing this information”. Accused.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a tweet demanded that “exemplary action” should be taken against the accused, adding that no leniency should be shown to them despite their “high political connections”.
Home Minister Amit Shah has not directly responded to AAP’s criticism, but he has reportedly spoken to the police commissioner and ordered an immediate probe into the incident.
Meanwhile, Mr. Saxena said he was monitoring the investigation.
He previously said he was shocked by the “appalling callousness of the criminals” and that his head “hangs in shame at the inhumane crime”.
