The terrible death of a 20-year-old woman in New Delhi on January 1 shocked India, the BBC writes. According to local media, the scooter on which the girl was riding was hit by a car, and the young woman’s body was scattered for kilometers, and the driver did not notice it.

Road accidents are a common occurrence in India, killing hundreds of thousands of people every year, but this incident has received widespread media coverage and sparked protests.

According to local media cited by the BBC, the young woman, who was an events manager, was returning from work on the morning of the first day of 2023 when her scooter was hit by a car. Police officers say that the driver of the car, in which there were four other people, continued to drive for several kilometers, dragging the body of the young woman.

The Indian Express newspaper writes that the woman’s body was dragged along the road for almost an hour, and witnesses called the police at least five times. The fact that it happened on New Year’s Day, when thousands of police officers were mobilized to patrol Delhi’s roads, only added to the questions and controversy surrounding the case.

Five men who were in the car at the time of the accident are now in police custody.

“Loud music drowned out the screams”

Police said they launched a search for the car after receiving two calls on Sunday morning – one about a woman being dragged by a car and the other after a woman’s body was found on a road in north Delhi.

According to police, the person behind the wheel borrowed the car from an acquaintance to drive on the night of December 31st and January 1st. Those in the car told police they panicked after hitting the scooter and sped away, not noticing the woman’s body being dragged. The men also claim that they did not hear the victim’s screams because they were listening to loud music in the car, and the local press writes that they were drunk.

The 20-year-old girl was also the sole breadwinner of her family – her father died a few years ago, and her mother can no longer work due to illness. “We don’t even have the money to perform her last rites,” the young woman’s mother told the BBC.

The case also sparked a political controversy in the Indian capital. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which rules Delhi, protested against the federal government citing security concerns in the city. The AAP does not control the city police, which reports to the federal home ministry. On Monday, party members protested outside the governor’s office, demanding his resignation.