Kanjhawala case: Autopsy contradicts 'friend's' claims; family alleges planned murder - Updates in 10 points

Victim Anjali's 'friend' and the only alleged eyewitness to the Kanjhawala case has given some sketchy statements that contradict police evidence. The timeline of incidents as captured on CCTV cameras also doesn't quite add up, further making it difficult for the police to untangle the whole incident.

New Delhi: Statements from Anjali's friend Nidhi claiming the victim was drunk driving contradict the post-mortem reports, even as Anjali's family has claimed the death to be a pre-planned murder. The family has also raised questions on the authenticity of Nidhi's statements, and so has DCW chief Swati Maliwal -- putting Nidhi, the prime witness of the incident, in a doubtful spot.

Here are the top developments in the case so far:

1. The autopsy reports of the Kanjhwala incident victim Anjali are in contradiction to what her friend Nidhi has claimed. While Nidhi told media that Anjali was in an inebriated state on the night of accident, the post-mortem reports accessed by ETV Bharat nowhere mention the presence of alcohol in Anjali's body. This has put a question mark on the authenticity of Nidhi's statements, who is currently the main eye-witness of the case as per the police.
2. Anjali's bereaved family has meanwhile claimed that the accident was a 'planned murder'. Speaking to the media, Bhupendra Singh Chaurasia, a family member of the deceased, said that the post-mortem report showed no traces of alcohol. "It is a pre-planned murder," he said, raising doubts about Nidhi's statements. "When two friends were together in such a brutal accident, how is it possible that one managed to escape without any injuries?" he said.
3. Nidhi, who was riding pillion with Anjali on the night of the accident, said that after the accident, the accused men kept dragging Anjali even though they knew the girl was stuck under their car. "After the car hit us, I fell to one side. My friend got stuck under the car. Men knew that the girl had gotten stuck, they still deliberately kept dragging her," she told a group of reporters on Tuesday. "I was scared and returned home, didn't tell anything to anyone," she added.
4. The Delhi Police have meanwhile found a CCTV footage wherein Nidhi has been captured outside her house at around 1:37 am. She can be seen in haste, knocking at the door, and borrowing a phone charger from her neighbor. She can then be seen dialing her phone before she enters her house. The women had left the hotel at 1:31 am, as shown in the CCTV footage at the hotel -- which leaves a time patch of around 6 minutes for Nidhi to witness the accident, flee the spot, and reach home, if her claims are to be believed.
5. Nidhi had also earlier told the media that Anjali was drunk and insistent on driving the scooty, over which they had also gotten into a fight at the hotel. "She was in a drunken state but insisted on driving the two-wheeler. It is her fault. I insisted so much, told her don't drive, I am conscious, let me drive. But she did not listen," Nidhi said.
6. Meanwhile, Delhi Commission For Women Chairperson Swati Maliwal questioned why Nidhi kept silent till the police traced her on the basis of footage from CCTV cameras. "Anjali's friend has put the blame on her. She was with Anjali when the accident happened. Didn't she feel the need to inform police or Anjali's family about what had happened? What kind of friend is she?" Maliwal said on Wednesday. Demanding a probe into the friend's claims, Maliwal said Singh died a painful death and she should not suffer 'character assassination'.
7. According to the details mentioned in the autopsy reports in ETV Bharat's possession, there were a total of 40 injuries on Anjali's body, out of which 20 to 25 were grazed abrasions. Her brain is missing as it fell out from the back of her skull and was mashed on the road, while her ribcages were visible from her abdomen with multiple other severe fractures in her body. The report does not have evidence of sexual assault or the presence of alcohol in the body.
8. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia meanwhile met Anjali's family on Wednesday, and assured a government job to one of her kin. "It was an incident of dreadful savagery. We will provide a job to one of her family members," the deputy chief minister said after meeting her family members.
9. A team of Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) examined the car of the accused on Wednesday and based on the preliminary findings said the examination suggests that the woman was stuck onto the front left wheel of the vehicle. "Most blood stains were found behind the front left wheel. Blood stains have been found on other parts also, under the car. No sign of the woman present inside the car found so far," the report said. Blood samples of the occupants of the car who are arrested have also reached the FSL for detailed examination.
10. Anjali Singh was killed in the early hours of the New Year after her scooter was hit by a car that dragged her for 12 kilometers. Her body was found in outer Delhi's Kanjhawala. Police have arrested five persons who were in the car when the incident occurred. The mortal remains of 20-year-old Singh were cremated on Tuesday amid tight security.