Harassed family of victim pleads: ‘Just leave us alone’

They are exhausted by the endless, unwanted attention, all the fake names thought up by media organisations for her, and the manner in which the horrific tragedy is being made into a spectacle.

"Before you name laws and schools after her, and give her awards, our only request is bring us justice. Hang the people who tortured and killed my sister; that will be the biggest tribute to her," the victim's 19-year-old brother told The Indian Express.

Asked about Tharoor's proposal — amplified by the media since Tuesday, rejected by the Congress but reported to have been seconded by the family on Wednesday — the brother said: "My father feels if they want to name the new law after her, they can go ahead, it will be like a shraddhanjali in her memory. I don't understand why that has generated so much controversy. If it means people chasing us even more, we don't want it."

On Delhi BJP chief Vijender Gupta's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday demanding India's highest peacetime gallantry award for her, the brother said: "I am getting calls about naming laws, schools, movies after my sister, and giving her awards. Media people are walking into our home in the village, asking for comments on each of these from anyone who is available. We just want to be left alone."

Telugu filmmaker Ramana Gaddam has been reported to be planning changes in his new film Nisha to highlight the December 16 gangrape. The victim's brother said, "People should not forget that till the last minute when she was conscious, my sister was wary of even relatives visiting her in hospital. She constantly told me to make sure nobody knew what had happened to her."

He added that he had "no idea" what making a film about her meant. "The public anger is justified, but my sister's story should not be made into a spectacle. If anybody has suggested such a thing, should they not have first met or asked us if we were okay with it?"

The family has been at their native village since immersing her ashes in the Ganga. There, the brother said, "well wishers and media persons" had "invaded every room in the house", not "leaving anybody alone".

"Even my grandmother, who is in shock, has had to answer questions on how my sister was, and why she went to Delhi. All our lives are before the public now, what more can we offer?" he said.

His mother, who had fallen unconscious before her daughter's body was being taken for cremation and had to be admitted to a Delhi hospital, is still ill, the teen said. "She has fever, she is still not eating or sleeping properly. And people want to know how she feels. How can she feel? What comments can she give?"

The police are expected to file the chargesheet on Thursday before a fast track court. But the family has no plans to return to Delhi immediately. "We have not been called yet. If we are called, we will come, otherwise we will return by January 15. We need some time alone as a family," the brother said.

He added, "All these names like Damini, Amanant and Nirbhaya that are being thrown at us, all the fake pictures that are circulating on social networking sites, it is exhausting. Our neighbourhood in Delhi had become a nightmare, people were standing outside our house. We came away here, and we are still being hounded."

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