The maternal uncle of Delhi girl Anjali, who died in the horrific hit-and-drag incident at Kanjhawala on New Year's night, on Wednesday said the deceased's friend Nidhi is hatching conspiracy by claiming the victim was drunk on the day of the incident.
His response came against the backdrop of claims by Nidhi to the media on Tuesday that Anjali was drunk on the day of the incident.
"Nidhi was hidden previously. Now she has come out after Anjali's last rites. When the incident happened, did not she have the humanity to report it to the police or family? She was scared then. Is not she scared now? This was Nidhi's conspiracy," Anjali's maternal uncle told ANI.
He said Anjali did not have a drinking habit and her friend is lying over the matter.
"My niece did not have a drinking habit. If she was drunk that night (when the incident happened) as per Nidhi's claim then the postmortem report would have mentioned that. It means Nidhi is lying," he said.
He demanded the death penalty for the five accused who were in the vehicle that hit and dragged Anjali.
"Section 302 IPC should be registered against five accused and they should be given the death penalty. Section 304 IPC should be registered against Nidhi. We will appeal this to the government," Anjali's maternal uncle said after meeting Sultanpuri Station House Officer (SHO).
Speaking to media persons, Nidhi on Tuesday said, "She was in a drunken state but insisted on driving the two-wheeler. After being hit by the car, she came under the car and got dragged with it. I was scared and ran away and returned home, did not tell anything to anyone. It is the fault of the girl who was driving in an inebriated state. I insisted to her so much that do not drive, I am conscious, let me drive. She did not believe me and believed herself."
Refuting the claim, Anjali's mother said, "I don't know Nidhi. I have never seen her. Anjali never used to drink. She never came home in an inebriated state. We don't buy what is Nidhi claiming."
She also questioned how Nidhi left the incident spot if she was, indeed, Anjali's friend. She termed the incident a "well thought-out conspiracy".
"Nidhi is saying all the wrong things. If Nidhi was my daughter's friend as she claims, why did she leave her alone? This is a well-thought-out conspiracy. Nidhi might be involved in it. There should be a proper investigation into her claims," she said.
Anjali's autopsy report said there was "semi-digested food material" present in her abdomen at the time of her death.
However, to ascertain if she was in a drunken state at the time of the incident, her viscera has been preserved for chemical analysis.
The autopsy report further said that Anjali's back scraped off so badly as she held on the car's axle and was dragged along that her ribs showed.
The 20-year-old was killed in the early hours of the New Year after her scooter was hit by a car driven by five men and she was reportedly dragged for 13 kilometres under the vehicle in outer Delhi's Sultanpuri.
