Kanjhawala incident: A year on, Anjali’s mother says ‘nobody can fill the void’

New Delhi, Dec 31 (PTI) "We were waiting for Anjali to return home so that we could begin the new year by offering prayers at Bangla Sahib Gurdwara,” recalled Rekha, the mother of the 20-year-old woman who was hit by a car which dragged her for several kilometres last New Year’s eve.

“Little did we know that we would get a call from police that night about her death,” she said.

Anjali Singh was hit by a car while she was on a scooter and was dragged from Sultanpuri to Kanjhawala, killing her on the spot. Rekha and her family lost their loving daughter and sole breadwinner.

Speaking to PTI over phone, Rekha, a resident of northwest Delhi's Mangolpuri said that at first she could not believe that her daughter was killed in a road accident and she immediately turned on the TV to know if it was indeed true.

"I remember that I was continuously getting phone calls from all our relatives to know what actually had happened. I was totally speechless," she said. Anjali was one of Rekha’s four children.

"We all miss her so much. At the start of the new year, my sister used to take us to a place of worship. Her death has left a void that nobody can fill,” said Varun, Anjali’s 12-year-old brother.

Anjali’s post-mortem report revealed the causes of death were shock and haemorrhage resulting from ante-mortem (before death) injuries to the head, spine, left femur, and lower limbs. Over 40 injuries were found on her body.

"I still remember those images of her death, which still haunts me and will haunt every single family member,” Rekha said.

“I want to tell those who go out to party and celebrate New Year that they must be very careful as people forget how to drive after having drinks," she added.

Anjali’s income of around Rs 25,000 per month was a big support for the family, said Rekha, who is currently unemployed. She hopes the government would help her with a job.

"A portion of the money we had received through help after Anjali’s death was used for my treatment while some portion has been kept as fixed deposits in the name of three children," Rekha told PTI.

Anjali's family members donated her belongings at Ganga Ghat near Badaun, where they performed her last rites.

Delhi Police filed an 800-page chargesheet against seven accused, Amit Khanna, Krishan, Mithun, and Manoj Mittal – who were charged with murder, and Deepak Khanna, Ankush Khanna and Ashutosh Bharadwaj – who were charged under other offences. A total of 117 witnesses were examined in the case, a senior police officer said.

According to the police, all seven accused have been booked for criminal conspiracy (under Section 120-B of the IPC), destruction of evidence (Section 201) and harbouring offender (Section 212).

Ashutosh and Amit have also been booked under the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act.

The police had initially booked the accused for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and rash driving. Murder charges were invoked three weeks after the incident took place.

The men inside the car claimed they didn’t hear anybody scream because loud music was playing inside the car. However, the police found intention and added sections of murder. PTI