A dedicated sister to five siblings and a sole breadwinner — though burdened with many responsibilities, 20-year-old Anjali Singh was like any other young woman her age. She was a fan of Punjabi songs, enjoyed making Instagram reels and loved doing make-up.
In the early hours of Sunday, as she rode her scooter home from work on a dimly lit stretch, she met a fate unlike any other 20-year-old. Anjali’s two-wheeler was hit by a Baleno that had five men in their 20s as its occupants, and her body was dragged under the vehicle for over 10 km, police said.
For her family, Anjali’s death means losing their pole star. She lost her father eight-nine years ago, and her mother suffers kidney issues. This prompted Anjali to drop out of school in Class 10, so she could financially support the family. She took up a job at a salon, and then as an usher at weddings and other such events, earning anywhere between Rs 500 and 1,000 for each attendance.
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Anjali’s mother and a younger sister on Monday. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)
Work would often end late, and her family said she was returning home from one such event on the fateful night.
Such was the condition of her body — having been dragged for kilometres — that her mother Rekha almost fainted on seeing it. The skin had been scraped off her back, and her clothes were completely torn. “I had a beautiful daughter. I can’t explain what I saw in the mortuary. How can those five men leave her like that? I still believe she was raped. I was told she was dragged for 10 kilometres, my poor child. She was not like my other daughters, who didn’t wish to work. She was a brave soul. I remember she used to say she wouldn’t get married till her brothers got jobs. She was my everything,” said Rekha, who used to work as a helper at a private school until three years ago.
“She wanted to keep studying but started working at a small beauty salon to help me and her three younger siblings. Later, she found a job as an usher and would earn Rs 10,000-15,000 a month,” she said.
The family said her main job was to welcome guests, arrange flowers and help brides with make-up and dressing. She had also worked part-time at small salons to earn extra money, but lost those gigs due to the pandemic-induced lockdown.
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Her scooter which met with an accident, a TVS Jupiter, was her first gift to herself. She chose the colour purple as it was her favourite.
Preeti, her sister and the eldest of the six siblings, said: “She bought it last year on EMI. It made her feel liberated. She was so strong; how can this happen to her? The police made us go to the police station and then took us to the spot. My sister was lying dead… naked, in the middle of the street. I want those men to be punished.”
Anjali loved designing clothes and was known in the family as the life of every party. Her Instagram ID, which has now been blocked, was full of reels of her dancing or lip syncing to songs. “She would design and buy all my lehengas. She was the star of our house,” said Preeti.
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Her family said that she wanted to save enough to take a course as a beautician and become self-sufficient.
They also said she took a keen interest in “politics and civic issues”. “I remember last year, when she went to meet an MLA and even fought with a few politicians to get a pothole fixed here. She also complained about water issues and road traffic. She was very active and was never scared of authorities. She once told me she wants to enter politics, fight elections and become a nigam parshad,” said Anjali’s sister Anshika.
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Anjali’s story: Ambitious, family’s sole breadwinner - The Indian Express
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