A 21-year-old woman and her five-month-old daughter allegedly died in a car that was found in the Munak Canal in Narela on Tuesday night.
The woman’s husband, Anil, who was driving the car and lost control, claimed to have jumped out of the vehicle at the last moment. He has been detained and is being questioned. No case has been registered so far.
Foul play?
The family of the deceased, meanwhile, has accused Anil of murdering his wife and daughter before pushing the vehicle into the canal.
The victims have been identified as Hemlata and her daughter Pritika, residents of Nangal village.
Anil, who works as a driver, had borrowed the car from a friend, said the police. He had gone to pick Hemlata and their daughter from her maternal home in Goga village and was headed towards Nangal village when he realised that he had left his mobile phone behind.
The accident happened when Anil took a u-turn towards Goga village. “He claimed to have forgotten his mobile phone, which is why he took a u-turn,” said Mr. Singh.
Hemlata’s uncle Sunil Bharadwaj, however, told The Hindu that Anil had been harassing Hemlata for dowry since their marriage in 2014.
According to the police, the woman’s husband Anil called the police around 10 p.m. on Tuesday.
He told the police that the Maruti Eeco he was driving had fallen into the canal.
Cops initiate probe
“We sent a police team to the spot near Hanuman temple. Anil claimed that because of the light from an approaching vehicle, he was blinded and lost control. He told us that he did not have time to save the lives of his family members and remained a helpless spectator as the car fell into the canal. We are verifying these claims,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Vikramjit Singh.
Mr. Singh added that the road on which the alleged accident happened runs over the canal, with water on either side. During the summer, the water level dips, leading to greater impact due to a fall from a height.
The post mortem, which was conducted on Wednesday, has pointed towards death due to drowning.
“When the divers who fished out the bodies went in, they found the seat belt fastened. The onus is on the man to explain why he not fastened his own seat belt, and that if he had, how he managed to jump off so quickly,” said Mr. Singh.
Anil, who was driving the car, claimed that he was blinded by an approaching vehicle and lost control
