As Anjali was dragged, 3 police vans looked for Baleno – unsuccessfully

Another obstacle police faced was the fact that most pickets were on the road from Haryana to Delhi, and not in the other direction. Investigators also said that to avoid attracting attention, the accused drove the vehicle at a speed of 30-40 kmph.

A senior officer said: “The accident took place 500 metres from Kanjhawala in Outer Delhi. Later, the car drove towards Kanjhawala. We suspect that the woman must have raised her legs to save herself when she was under the car but she kept getting dragged as they didn’t stop driving. Our checking points and cameras at the border spotted the vehicle. Also, PCR calls were made about the accident and the scooter. We started looking for the car but the callers weren’t clear about its direction, and the men kept taking rounds in narrow lanes.”

“Their speed was also 30-40 kmph, which helped the accused because if the car was speeding, it would have been spotted. The vans were not exactly chasing the offending vehicle as the callers weren’t clear, but were instead doing rounds of the area to ascertain what had happened… There were visibility issues because of the cold weather and the fog,” added the officer.

Newly emerged CCTV footage also shows a PCR van crossing the same stretch as the Baleno car just a few minutes apart. The visuals show the Baleno, occupied by the five accused, moving in a narrow lane. Around 5-10 minutes later, a PCR van is seen on the same stretch.

Senior police officers said a PCR van was attending another call in the area when the woman was hit and was being dragged.

A source close to the investigation said, “We have found the footage. The PCR reached there to attend to a brawl. There were hooligans creating a ruckus in the area. They were driving a Scorpio. They were 50-100 metres away from the Baleno… After attending that PCR call, the staff noticed the abandoned scooter of the victim and reported it. Since there was no victim or eyewitnesses, it was assumed that the victim had reached the hospital.”

A DD entry about the scooter was made at 2.56 am. PCR calls were then made by locals around 3.20 am and 3.30 am but the body was found at 4.10-4.15 am.

CCTV footage from the area also shows Anjali’s friend returning home after the accident. The friend was riding pillion at the time, but didn’t inform anyone since she was “scared”.

While the CCTV footage has a time stamp of 1.36 am, and the accident took place at 2.05 am, police said this was a “technical glitch”. The Baleno has been sent for a forensic examination. Traces of blood have been found underneath the vehicle.