Anjali death case: Seventh accused surrenders before police

New Delhi, January 6, 2023

Ankush Khanna, the seventh accused in the death case of Anjali, the 20-year-old woman who met a painful end after being dragged by a car in the Kanjhawala area of Delhi for about 12 km in the early hours of January 1, surrendered before the police on Friday evening.

On Thursday night, the police had arrested Aushutosh, the sixth accused in the case, who has been sent to police custody. Five other accused persons are already in police custody.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Harender Singh confirmed that soon after Ankush surrendered, he was placed under arrest, adding that the police will now seek his custodial remand. There are speculations that Ankush was also in the car on that fateful night.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police on Friday took Nidhi, the friend of Anjali, to the Sultanpuri police station to join the investigation, said an official.

Anjali, 20, died a painful death after being hit and dragged by a car for several kms in the early hours of January 1 when she was returning from a party with her friend, Nidhi, on a scooty. However, her friend escaped with minor injuries and is the key witness of the incident.

Harendra Kumar Singh said, "She has been called by police to join the investigation."

He clarified that she has not been detained or arrested as was being reported in a section of the media.

Singh told IANS, "There are reports that Nidhi has been arrested by police. It is hereby clarified that she has been called by police to join the investigation."

A police team brought Nidhi to join the investigation, said an official, adding that the entire timeline of the incident and statement of the accused and eyewitness was being verified as a part of the investigation.

Earlier, police had recorded the statement of Nidhi under section 164 CrPC. She was with Anjali when the incident occurred on the fateful night.

Meanwhile, the sources also claimed that Deepak Khanna, one of the accused, was in fact at home all day and was asked by the other accused to take the blame since he was the only person with a driving licence.

Deepak even brought the auto-rickshaw of his uncle to take the accused to their homes.

A CCTV footage clip doing the rounds on social media showed that on the night of the incident, after handing over the car to Ashutosh, the accused left the place in an auto-rickshaw owned by Deepak's uncle, but the driver's face is not clear.

IANS