Anju was too strong-willed to take her life, asserts father

Anju was too strong-willed to take her life, asserts father
SMEETA MISHRA PANDEY

NEW DELHI, JAN 12: Not a single teardrop fell as he spoke fondly of his youngest daughter, Anju Singh. When the news of her death reached K P Singh, he did not cry. He bore the news alone at his Patparganj flat. There was no one to share his grief. His wife and children are not in town.

Later, his son-in-law Suhaib Illyasi came over along with his father Maulana Jameel Illyasi, who is also the president of the All India Imam's Association. Soon, Illyasi's television team (which made India's Most Wanted for Zee and now makes Fugitive for DD) also arrived at the Singh residence. By noon, every room in the Singh home was filled with people. Policemen stood at the entrance, corridor and living room, shooing media persons away from the family members.

Singh was the only person who did not utter a word and kept an unbearable silence throughout. A retired professor from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Singh said: ``I am a physics professor. I can explain complex things but I just cannot find an answer to why my daughter killed herself. It is beyond my understanding. Why should a strong girl like Anju take her life? I don't have any answers to that.''

``My daughter was completely fine Monday night,'' he added. ``She came over to my place in the evening along with my granddaughter Aliya. She had some pastries, arranged things on the table and left for her Mayur Vihar home. The next thing I hear about her is that she is dead.''

``Anju always spoke her mind,'' said Dr Singh. ``She always got what she wanted. As a child, I bought her all the toys she wanted. When she grew up, we gave in to all her demands. She was the youngest in the family. So no one ever dared to upset her.''

Anju completed her Bachelors in Science from Jamia Milia Islamia. It was in the lawns of this university that she met Suhaib, then a young mass communication scholar, for the first time. ``They fell in love during their Jamia days,'' said Umer Illyasi, Suhaib's brother and a producer of the TV show. (Suhaib's Aliya Productions that produced the serial had four partners, Anju, Suhaib, Umer and their mother.) ``Both Suhaib bhai and Anju went to London thereafter.''

``We gave her permission to go to England,'' said Singh. ``I told you we always gave in.'' It was in London that the couple got married where Illyasi was then working for ATN. Later, they returned to India.

Singh was aware that the couple were having frequent fights in the past few months. ``But I always dismissed them as the usual day-to-day fights that every married couple have,'' said Singh. ``I never took it seriously. I never intervened when Suhaib and Anju fought.''

``That they belonged to two different religions never posed a problem,'' said Umer. ``In fact, my father would often proudly declare in social circles that a Pandit's daughter was now a bahu in a Maulvi's home. We even celebrated Eid together. Two days ago, we had a grand get-together at my dad's place.''

In fact, Suhaib often stayed over at the Singh home in Patparganj. ``After Shoaib received threats to life, he made it a habit to keep changing residence all the time,'' said Umer. ``He would either stay at Kasturba Gandhi marg home or the Patparganj flat. As he kept long hours at work, Anju would often go to Patparganj. When he finally bought the Mayur Vihar flat two months ago, he tried his best to keep the address a secret, known only to his closest friends. Two policemen kept 24-hour watch over his family.''

On the days before her death, Anju was busy furnishing and decorating her new home in Mayur Vihar. ``Two days ago, Madam had ordered a new sofa set,'' said Illyasi's personal security officer Shatrughan. ``She sounded pretty happy. Nothing seemed wrong till Monday night.''

Anju's mother is in Ottawa, Canada, where her eldest daughter Rashmi lives. Anju wanted to join them next month. Now she won't,'' said the father.