Anjali’s death begs the question: Where were the police?

Deepak Dahiya, one of the eyewitnesses who called police, said, “It was horrible. I was outside my shop when I heard a noise and saw the body being dragged under the car. I shouted at the accused but nobody stopped. They were taking U-turns. I called police and chased the men but they were playing loud music.”

Special Commissioner of Police (Law & Order) Sagar Preet Hooda said Monday that two PCR calls were made around 3.30-3.40 am and 4.15 am.

Police sources, however, said five calls were made about the incident. The first PCR call is learnt to have been made around 2.30 am and was received by police in Rohini district. The caller told them an accident had taken place.

“Staff tried responding but couldn’t trace the car. We didn’t know about the woman or the body,” said an officer. The second call, around 3.20 am, was from patrolling staff who said they had found a scooter involved in an accident in Outer Delhi. Sources said a diary entry was filed at 3.56 am but police couldn’t find the rider. In the meantime, at 3.30 am, a call was made by Dahiya, who saw the body being dragged. “We rushed to respond to the call but the accused had fled and the body wasn’t found. Around 4.15 am, another call was received about the body. Anjali’s body was then found in Kanjhawala’s Jaunti village,” said an officer.

Home Minister Amit Shah, meanwhile, directed Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora to submit a fact-finding enquiry in connection with the incident.

On how the accused were traced, an officer from the police headquarters said, “A personnel from Rohini district traced the car and found its owner in Sultanpuri. A patrolling staff meanwhile found the body. The car owner told police he had lent the car to a friend. Within the next two-three hours, two of the accused were caught. The details were shared with Outer district staff since the incident took place under their jurisdiction.”

All five accused — Deepak Khanna (26), who drove a Gramin Sewa auto; Amit Khanna (25), who works for a nationalised bank in Uttam Nagar; Krishan (27), who worked at the Spanish Culture Centre at Connaught Place; Mithun (26), a hairdresser at a salon; and Manoj Mittal (27), a BJP functionary in Sultanpuri — have been arrested. Deepak was at the wheel, the FIR states.

Senior officers said the accused were drunk at the time. “They took the car around 7 pm and came back around 5 am and returned the car in a damaged condition. Amit and Deepak told (the person who lent them the car) that they were drinking and had hit a girl. They got scared and fled,” reads the FIR.

In the run-up to New Year’s Eve, the Delhi Police had said 18,000 police personnel and outside companies were being deployed to check violations. Delhi Police spokesperson DCP Suman Nalwa said Monday, “Patrolling on that stretch wasn’t much only because the area doesn’t come under any commercial market or tourist place and isn’t a high footfall place. We deploy personnel as per crowds, markets, crime rate, etc. That area doesn’t have a high crime rate either and no big incidents have been recorded there. We are now checking details of deployment and patrolling.”

Later on Monday, police said the post-mortem is complete and the report is awaited.