Couldn’t bear to see Anjali’s belongings, gave them all away: mother of Kanjhawala victim

Rekha and her family struggle to cope with the loss of her daughter Anjali, a year after her tragic death in a hit-and-run case. Delhi Traffic Police proposes installing more street lights to avoid dark spots.

A year has passed since she lost her daughter, but Rekha, seated with her three children (aged 13-15) and mother on a 6x5 feet bed at their one-bedroom flat in Mangolpuri, is still finding it hard to come to terms with the loss. She has discarded almost everything in the house that could remind her of Anjali.

Ms. Rekha says she gave away all of her daughter’s belongings after performing her last rites in Badaun.

“What else could we have done with the objects she Anjali loved so much — clothes, makeup, artificial jewellery? We gave everything away, except for her lehengas, which we hope her younger sister will wear one day,” says Ms. Rekha’s mother, Kanta, 60.

The family has also stopped eating the meal Anjali cherished the most — chicken curry and rice. “It has been a year now. That meal has not been cooked at our home. We don’t wish to do anything that reminds us of her. The images of her being dragged under the car are still fresh in our memory. How can we ever enjoy life again?” Ms. Rekha says.

It was on the morning of New Year’s Day, January 1, 2023, that the police informed the family about Anjali’s death, which had occurred hours earlier. But the true horror of her tragic end sunk in much later when someone shared with them a CCTV footage showing Anjali’s lifeless body being dragged under the wheels of a car. The footage subsequently went viral and created ripples across the country, with the public demanding swift punishment for the accused.

The police arrested the four occupants of the car — Amit Khanna, Krishan, Mithun and Manoj Mittal — and charged them with hitting 20-year-old Anjali, who was riding a scooter, and dragging her lifeless body for 12 km from Sultanpuri to Kanjhawala, leading to her death. The four are right now in judicial custody. Three other persons, Deepak Khanna, Ankush Khanna and Ashutosh Bharadwaj, also arrested in the case for various offences, including destruction of evidence (Section 201) and harbouring offender (Section 212), are out on bail.

An 800-page chargesheet has been filed against the seven accused, and 117 witnesses have been examined so far, then DCP (Outer) Harendra K. Singh said.