New Delhi, August 07: A SUB Divisional Magistrate (SDM) was found dead in her car in Rohini, Outer Delhi, early Thursday morning.
Neera Kharbanda, 44, was the SDM of Model Town — she was most likely heading home, in Paschim Vihar, when the incident took place, the police said.
Kharbanda’s body was found on the driver’s seat of her Hyundai Accent (registration number DL 2C AG 0700).
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer district) Atul Katiyar said it seems like a case of accident “at this point of time” but added that the police are investigating all possible angles.
A senior officer said the incident occurred sometime around 4 am, and the police received a call only at 7.19 am on Thursday.
According to police, Kharbanda had gone to her office in Model Town for a brief while on Wednesday — she reached around noon and left for home by 4 pm.
The police so far have found that Kharbanda left home around 8 pm on Wednesday after taking part in a Raksha Bandhan function. She told family members that she was going for a long drive, though the police did not give further details.
After leaving home, Kharbanda rang up a relative and purportedly said she was not happy with life — that possibly was the last call she made, the officer said.
“We have identified a security guard posted at the gate of Satyam Hospital just across the road — the man told us that he heard a big, crashing noise around 4 am but didn’t go out since his shift was getting over,” the officer said.
DCP Katiyar said, “We are questioning the security guard but we can’t disclose his identity at this point since he could be our witness tomorrow.”
The police have recovered a liquor bottle from the badly damaged car but refrained from commenting whether she was inebriated at the time. “We can’t say anything unless we get the postmortem report,” the investigating officer said. “There are no external injuries; only some bruises on her face.”
DCP Katiyar said, “It appears she was speeding and banged into another vehicle. The victim’s car got entangled with the other vehicle and was dragged for some time.”
A case of rash and negligent driving has been registered at Prashant Vihar police station and police are trying to trace the vehicle that is suspected to have been involved in the incident.
Divorced for the past five years, Kharbanda lived with her parents at Paschim Vihar with her six-year-old daughter. Her former husband Vinod Talwar runs a steel business, the police said.
–Agencies