A 20-year-old woman was killed after her scooty was hit by a car and she was dragged under the vehicle for 12 kilometres in Delhi on Sunday morning.
The woman's family has alleged that she was sexually assaulted. Five men were in the car, a Maruti Suzuki Baleno, and they have been arrested, the police said, reports NDTV.
The arrested men include a credit card collection agent, a driver, and a ration shop owner, a police officer told NDTV.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena tweeted that he was "shocked at the monstrous insensitivity of the perpetrators" and was monitoring the case.
"Even as every possible support/help and beyond, to the family of the victim will be ensured, I appeal to all to not resort to opportunistic scavenging. Let's together work towards a more responsible and sensitive society," he said in another tweet.
The incident took place in Delhi's Sultanpuri on Sunday morning, several hours into the New Year celebrations.
After hitting her scooty, the car drove on for 10-12 km even as her limbs got entangled in the vehicle's undercarriage, the police said.
Rekha, the woman's mother, alleged the men had sexually assaulted her. "Her clothes cannot be completely torn off. Her entire body was naked when they found her. I want a full investigation and justice," she said.
The woman's uncle, Prem Singh, said he got a call at 11 am from his wife saying Anjali is dead. "My elder sister (Anjali's mother) received a call at 7 am informing her that Anjali has met with an accident and her body is in the postmortem room at Sanjay Gandhi Hospital," Singh said.
"My sister was called to the police station. They didn't show her where the accident happened, though the car and the scooty were there. There was blood everywhere. There was blood on the sheet metal on the sides," he said.
"This case is like the Nirbhaya case. The men tried to do something bad... I want justice," he alleged.
The police control room got a call at 3:24 am that a car was seen dragging a body. The police got another call at 4:11 am about a woman's body lying on the road. After that, the police alerted officers deployed at pickets and started searching for the vehicle, news agency ANI reported.
The woman, Anjali, was a resident of Aman Vihar. She is survived by her mother, four sisters, and two brothers, one nine years old and the other 13. She was the eldest. Her father died some years ago.
"Police arrested the accused on the basis of the registered car number. The accused said their car met with an accident with a scooty, but they were unaware that she was dragged along with their car for several kilometres," Delhi Police officer Harendra K Singh told ANI, adding some posts on social media that claimed it was a rape case were fake and the police would act against those posting such content.
Delhi Commission for Women's chief Swati Maliwal said it has been reported that the men in the car were drunk.
"This matter is very dangerous. I will summon the Delhi Police for more details about the incident. The whole truth should come out," Maliwal told reporters.
The police said the five men are being tested for drinking and driving and they are checking whether the driver was under the influence.
