Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the accused in this case may be associated with highly-placed politicians, but all of us together should make an effort to ensure that they get the harshest punishment.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Monday termed the incident of a woman's body being dragged for nearly 12 kilometres by a car after it hit her scooter a "rarest of rare crimes" and demanded capital punishment for the accused, no matter how influential they may be.
He also urged Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena to take "exemplary action'' against the accused.
"I fail to understand in which direction our society is going. How can some boys drag a girl for several kilometres in their car and she dies without the police noticing? I hope and appeal that no matter how influential the accused are, they should be punished severely," he told reporters at a ceremony to flag off 50 electric buses.
Describing it as an "extremely shameful" incident, he said, "This comes under the category of rarest of rare crimes. Such people should be given capital punishment. This can happen to anyone's sister, daughter or daughter-in-law. The accused in this case may be associated with highly-placed politicians, but all of us together should make an effort to ensure that they get the harshest punishment."
Later in the day, Kejriwal said he has spoken to Saxena about the incident.
"Spoke to Hon’ble LG on Kanjhawala incident. Requested him to take exemplary action against culprits, strictest sections of IPC (Indian Penal Code) should be slapped against them. No leniency should be shown even if they have high political connections. He assured that he will take strong action," Kejriwal tweeted.
In an earlier tweet, Kejriwal demanded justice for the 20-year-old woman.
"What happened to our sister in Kanjhawala is very shameful. I hope that the culprits will be punished severely," Kejriwal, who is also the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), said in a tweet in Hindi.
The 20-year-old woman died after her scooty was hit by a car and her body was dragged for 12 kilometres in outer Delhi's Sultanpuri on Sunday. According to police, five men travelling in the car have been arrested.
Police said the victim's leg got entangled in one of the wheels of the car and she was dragged around.
A video purportedly showing the woman's body without clothes and broken legs has surfaced on social media. PTI could not independently check the veracity of the video. The footage also led to claims that the victim was raped and killed, but police said it was an accident.
The Delhi Commission for Women has issued a notice to the city police in connection with the incident.