Panchkula: Hugs, kisses and flower showers welcomed the kindergarten girl as she gingerly walked out of PGI-Chandigarh on Wednesday. Still bearing bruises from the brutal assault by a Class-3 boy in school last week, she seemed unsure at first but slowly put one foot after the other, holding hands with her father and a relative.The family took the six-year-old to an uncle’s house rather than back home to keep her away from curious eyes and help her heal in peace. The house was decorated with flowers. Seeing the crowd gathered to greet her — relatives, teachers, officials, and journalists included — she said a soft ‘hello’.That was enough to bring tears to the eyes of everyone around. “Now, people will know me as the father of Sherni (lioness),” her father told her. She said she was missing her friends from school.Her family says she is still traumatised by the assault. Her elder sister, too, is in shock. The parents plan to put both siblings in a different school.“For a few months, we will let her rest and recover. Her sister too is afraid to go to school. We will change their school as they will recall the horrifying experience,” their father told TOI.Her uncle said, “It is like a second birth for her. The blessing of people from the entire nation has worked for her. She is so brave. She has always been telling her father that she wants to be a doctor. She is very good at studies.”Her father said she has a lot of stitches. “Sometimes, we get scared because of her head wounds. We were provided with very good treatment and care at PGI, which is why she got cured,” he added.A Panchkula-based social organisation has announced that it will bear the expense of her entire future education.
