Dimly lit stretch with little patrolling — taking the killer car’s route in Kanjhawala

The area from Begumpur Chowk again descended into darkness for more than a kilometre, even with a Delhi Jal Board project taking place in the middle of the road, and boards and barricades bearing its name propped up every 100 metres. The road was dug up with concrete structures demarcating the stone-strewn part. In some parts on the Kanjhawala stretch, where the woman was dragged, were large rocks and pieces of concrete.

Absence of police chowkis on the stretch was glaring.

A couple of kilometres from Begumpur Chowk, shops on either side gave way to fields and abandoned patches of land.

A petrol station nestled on one side. Atul Bhirgu (23), its manager, said though patrolling is consistent and happens about 15 times a day, mostly by personnel on bikes, the stretch is dark and deserted at night. “Visibility bahut kam hai,” he said, pointing at the CCTV screen that replayed a recording from 4 am on Sunday. “Subah kaun dekhega? There are fields nearby and we can’t see anything on the road,” he said.

Deepak Kumar, a worker at a furniture store, said the woman was hit near Sultanpuri police station. “Despite the proximity of the station to the spot, no one knew,” Kumar said. The spot, near Rajni Gupta hospital, was 1.7 km away from the police station.

Ratan Singh, a rickshaw driver who has been working in an area that falls on the stretch, said they see police frequently. His vehicle, waiting for the fifth passenger before taking off, was parked at a road that branches off to Karan Vihar. He said the streetlights have not worked in three years. “There are two CCTV cameras here,” he said.

Several police vehicles were seen on Kanjhawala stretch, with policemen who were asked about the incident claiming they were not from the area. At Sultanpuri police station, many personnel were deployed on Monday after protesters thronged the roads, demanding action against the accused.

The accident took place on the main Kanjhawala road that can easily let two cars and a bike through one lane simultaneously. DTC buses were also visible every other minute. The accused had alleged that the road was narrow, attributing it as the reason for the accident.

The divider running through the middle had a row of streetlights, all unilluminated. Several shops and even high-end showrooms of mobile companies and vehicle showrooms were on either side of the road.

The otherwise busy road slips into inactivity by 11 pm. Pankaj, owner of a shop nearby, said streetlights on the stretch remain unlit. “There are CCTVs only at shops. The road doesn’t have any. By the time I close up at 11 pm, almost every small shop would have cleared, and the stretch becomes deserted. Only one hospital runs round-the-clock, the rest empties after 10 pm,” he said.

Kabir, a salesman at a shop, said the incidence of crimes is high in the area. “When there was a theft on the premises, police filed a report, but no action followed. There are no cameras for them to check or trace the culprits,” he claimed.

Locals say police presence was perceptible on New Year’s Eve. Pawan Kumar, a security guard deployed at a gate of a financing company, said that his shift ends at 7.30 pm. “No shop remains open after 11 pm,” he said, echoing others.

Abhay Jain, owner of a restaurant, recollected police presence on Saturday night. “Police had come to ask us to shut the shop on time. They were directing all shopkeepers to close theirs,” he said.

The lack of proper surveillance mechanism was compensated by shops as all of them sported at least two CCTV cameras at every entry.