Delhi accident: Not possible for driver to not know Anjali was stuck under the car, says auto expert

Auto expert Tutu Dhawan said in an interview to Aaj Tak that the driver had to know that there was a body stuck under the car. This comes amid questions on how did the driver of the Baleno car that dragged Anjali Singh’s body for around 14 km not know that there was something stuck underneath the chassis of the car. 

“There is no hook or bracket that could grab part of her body or clothes. Her knee got stuck in the suspension arm. She must have been stuck and struggled for some 10-15 mins before she died,” Tutu Dhawan opined on the case of the horrific Delhi accident. 

He said that it is not possible that the driver did not know something was stuck. Dhawan said that they must have known that something was stuck under the car. “You would feel the heaviness in the car and the pull if something gets stuck. You must be an absolute dud to not feel it. They knew everything. They probably kept dragging her along in the hope that the body would drop off by itself,” he said in an interview. 

Dhawan, an automobile expert who specialises in restoration of vintage and classic cars, elaborated that it is likely that her leg got twisted and stuck in the axle of the car. There is nothing else that her body could have stuck to, he said in the interview.  

He also said that if the driver had stopped instantly, she would have survived. 

“Every driver would know. There would be a load on his steering wheel, even in power steering. If you add 40-45 kg on it, one would know the difference,” said Dhawan, further adding that even if they were not aware, they knew they had hit her scooty and it was their responsibility to stop and check. 

The men in the car told the police that the driver felt that something was stuck under the car, but the other four occupants asked him to drive on, as per reports. They said that they were not aware that Anjali was stuck underneath. The driver, Deepak, had asked the others to check under the car but they asked him to drive away. The war was eventually stopped in Kanjhawala’s Jonti village after Mithun, who was sitting in the front seat, saw Anjali’s hand while taking a U-turn. Once her body came off, the men drove away. 

Meanwhile, Anjali’s friend Nidhi who was present at the time of the accident alleged that the men knew she was stuck but did the accident deliberately. "She was screaming. The men inside the car could hear her screams but they did not stop. They did the accident deliberately," she told India Today TV. She said that the men did not even try to save her. They kept moving forward and dragged her body along, she said. Nidhi also said that she could not see anyone in the car as they had black windows. 

On New Year's, Delhi-based Anjali Singh was killed after her scooty was hit by a Baleno car with five men in it. She got stuck under the car and was dragged for some 12-14 kms. Her body was found unclothed and in the middle of the road by the police. It later came to the fore that her friend, Nidhi, was also riding pillion on the scooty at the time of the accident. Following the accident, Nidhi walked back home and told her mother and grandmother about the accident but did not inform the police in fear of being blamed.