NEW DELHI: Anjali Kumari (20), who met an untimely and horrendous death in the national capital, was the sole breadwinner of her family. “Her father died last year. Being the eldest of all five siblings, she understood her responsibilities at a very tender age,” said one of the members of the victim’s family.
She was killed in a gut-wrenching road accident where she was allegedly hit by a car and then her body was dragged on the road for around 10-12km underneath it for about 90 minutes during which most of the flesh on the back side of her body was peeled off.
She used to work at events such as marriages and functions as a decorator. “She used to shower flowers on the function attendees there,” Prem Singh, the uncle of the victim said. Despite losing a father at such a young age, Anjali realised her family’s financial condition and became the sole breadwinner, supporting a family of five people. Two of her sisters were already married.
Recalling the fateful day, Anjali’s mother Rekha, who is herself a kidney patient, said she left for her work on December 31 and promised to return by 2-3 am. “Last time I spoke to her was around 9 pm. She promised that she would be back home soon,” the mother said, adding later her phone became unreachable.
Next day, i.e., January 1, the mother received a call from a police station. “They asked me about the scooty number and I told them it belonged to my daughter. They asked me to come to the police station but I told them I was unwell,” she said. The police sent their own vehicle and brought Anjali’s mother to Sultanpuri Police Station where after several hours she was disclosed about her daughter’s death.
The mother also expressed apprehension about her daughter being sexually assaulted but the police denied any such thing. “My daughter was found without a single cloth on her body and the police are terming it just a mere accident,” she said. Meanwhile, a senior Delhi Police official clarified that the post-mortem of the victim was conducted by a board of doctors and only after their report is out, further action or any other section could be added to the FIR which will be based on evidence.
Meanwhile, scores of people gathered outside the Sultanpuri Police Station on Monday and blocked traffic demanding punishment for the men who dragged a woman under their car for kilometres. They alleged that police were treating the incident as an accident case. “At the time, when people are wearing five layers of clothes in winter, then what’s the likelihood of her being found naked,” one of the protesters said.