As a young woman's body was dragged on a Delhi road for more than an hour under a car that hit her scooty, a witness chased it and called the police more than 20 times about "a car that keeps making U-turns and driving on the same stretch".
Deepak Dahiya, a local confectionary owner, was in touch with the police from 3.18, when he first spotted the car with a body underneath, to 5 am.
Anjali Singh, 20, was riding her scooty in West Delhi when the car hit her and then dragged her for around 12 kms.
On a New Year's Eve night, when some 16,500 policemen were out on the streets to keep an eye on troublemakers, no patrol van could spot anything suspicious about a car driving repeatedly on the same road. A closer look would have revealed a body under it.
"I told the PCR (Police Control Room) vans and pointed at the car, but they didn't even try to catch it," Deepak Dahiya told NDTV.
Disturbing CCTV footage has confirmed his account of the car dragging the body.
"I opened my shop at 3.18 am. Suddenly I heard a noise from a grey Maruti Baleno near the shop. I thought it had burst a tyre. Then I saw something stuck under the car. I realized it was a dead body. It was nude but there was black cloth underneath."
Mr Dahiya said he dialed the police emergency number, 112, immediately and reported the car and the body.
"I couldn't tell whether it was a woman, man or child. I told them there is a body stuck under a car but it's constantly moving," he said.
Mr Dahiya was in touch with the police for 90 minutes. In that time, the car took three U-turns to return to the spot repeatedly, with the body trapped in its undercarriage.
On the third turn at around 4.30 am, the body broke loose and fell on the road.
"I took a turn too, to catch up with the car. I followed the car. When I passed a PCR van, I told them this is the car but there is no body under it anymore. I gave the car number. The police van was following me. The car crossed three police vans at a speed of 20-25 km/hour. It had been driving in the area. But the PCRs did not even try to catch it. They ignored me," Mr Dahiya said.
The police said the body was found in such a horrific state that clothes and even the skin was ripped off.
"I couldn't stop the car as it was too dangerous. But I followed it and described it to the police. The police didn't react - maybe they didn't believe me. If they had been proactive, they could have caught the suspects earlier," he said.
Mr Dahiya said he received calls from police teams of two areas, who asked him to record his statement. "I said they should come and take my statement. Or allow me to go with my village and my people. I won't go alone to give any statement," he said.
The police said the car was being driven by one Deepak Khanna, and belongs to Manoj Mittal, a local leader who owns a ration shop.
Both have been arrested along with three others - Amit Khanna, who works for SBI cards, Krishan, who works at the Spanish Cultural Centre in Connaught Place and Mithun, a hairdresser.
Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party alleges that Manoj Mittal belongs to the BJP.
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