Anjali hit-&-run case: Baleno owner absconding after TNI report

In a major twist to Anjali hit and run case, a day after The New Indian reported about Baleno owner Ashutosh Sharma, he is now on the run

NEW DELHI | Updated: 05 January, 2023 9:23 pm IST
Ashutosh Sharma's residence in Rohini Sector-I (TNI Photo By Alok Kumar)

A day after The New Indian visited the locality of the owner of the car involved in the Anjali hit-and-run case, it has come to light that he is on the run.

The New Indian also accessed video footage that shows the timings when the accused parked the Maruti Baleno car after the incident and police arrived at the location of the parked vehicle.

Investigations by the Delhi Police have now revealed that two persons – Sharma and Ankush Khanna – tried to save the accused after the January 1 incident. It has also come to light that the two persons are now absconding.

While the Baleno car belonged to Sharma, Ankush Khanna is the brother of one of the accused involved in the incident – Amit Khanna. Amit Khanna is a friend of Sharma, and it was he who borrowed the car from Sharma under the pretext of taking his mother to visit a doctor.

Police said that after the accident Amit Khanna, who was driving the car when the incident happened, called his brother Sharma to inform him about the accident.

It was at the behest of Ankush Khanna, Amit Khanna decided to blame another person who was in the car, Deepak Khanna, for the accident. Amit Khanna said that it was Deepak Khanna who was driving the car at the time of the accident.

The New Indian reported on Wednesday about Baleno car owner Sharma, who lives in Rohini Sector-I with his wife and son. The car was parked near his house and keys were handed to him by the occupants of the car.

Special Commissioner of Police Sagarpreet Hooda said soon after the accident Amit Khanna called his brother Ankush Khanna on his mobile phone and informed him about the accident.

“They then decided that if the matter reaches the police, they will tell them that Deepak (Khanna) was driving the car, as he was carrying a driving licence. Police said Sharma had also hidden the fact from the police,” Special CP Hooda said.

Police said that they have made Sharma and Amit Khanna as co-accused in the case and teams were working on nabbing them.

Police have already arrested Deepak Khanna (26), who works as a driver in Gramin Sewa; Amit Khanna (25), who works for SBI cards; Krishnan (27), who works at the Spanish Culture Centre at Connaught Place in New Delhi; Mithun (26), who works as a hairdresser in Naraina and Manoj Mittal (27), who owns a ration shop at P Block Sultanpuri. They were the occupants of the Baleno car.

After allegedly hitting and dragging victim Anjali Singh with the Baleno, they parked the vehicle at Sharma’s residence and handed over the keys to Ashutosh.

According to the CCTV footage, accessed by The New Indian, Amit Khanna and his friends parked the vehicle at around 4.55 am. Almost two hours later, police arrived at the parking lot.

When asked how police got to know about the location of the Baleno, police sources said, “Many phone calls were made to the police after several witnesses saw the car moving with a dead body stuck below.”

Police were at Rohini, where the car was recovered, till 7 am. Ashutosh gave all the details he was aware of. “His statement was recorded,” police said.

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