She didn't want to visit fair, but went for 'safety'

NEW DELHI: "We coaxed her to come with us thinking she wouldn't be safe alone at home," wailed Simmi's grieving mother when TOI visited her village on Saturday. She feels responsible for her youngest daughter's fate. Simmi didn't want to go out that evening, she said. "Maybe she had a premonition."
When she saw the body after the postmortem next evening, Simmi's mother couldn't recognize her "beautiful" daughter's face.The clothes covering the body were the only clue.
Simmi's mother alleged that the family of the juvenile 'suspect has threatened to harm them if the boy goes to jail. "We saw them (the accused) at Singhu Border. Had I known what was on their mind, I would have hidden somewhere with my daughters," she said.
The cousin with whom Simmi was riding home on a bicycle lamented not being able to rescue her. "I will have this regret throughout my life. I heard her scream even in my unconscious state but couldn't gather the strength to save her," he said.
Simmi's mother is now scared for the safety of her other daughters. She said the juvenile's family is not remorseful. "After all this, they had the insolence to threaten us in the police station. They said they have three other sons and would set our house on fire if their boy is not freed."
For now, she has told her daughters not to step out alone after dark. Her eldest daughter is married and will return to her in-laws but she is worried about her second-born.
Simmi, she said, was studious and never missed school. She even chided her sisters if they skipped a class. A neighbour said Simmi was especially good at drawing and used to sketch people in the village.
Fear was palpable in the village on Saturday as other families have also imposed restrictions on their daughters. They've been told not to go out alone at night, especially near the juvenile's house.
Simmi's classmate, who lives two houses away, is in shock and has had fever ever since she saw the body on Friday evening. She said they had been talking till 5pm on Thursday and Simmi had wanted to stay over at her house for the duration of her family's absence. However, she relented and went to the mela on her eldest sister's insistence.