Panchkula: Clutching flowers and balloons, the six-year-old girl at the centre of the shocking Panchkula school assault case walked out of PGI on Wednesday, returning home to a warm welcome after days of treatment. Though still struggling to walk comfortably and bearing visible scars on her face, the little survivor smiled and greeted visitors, showing remarkable resilience beyond her years.The family took her to her uncle’s home in Peer Muchalla, where flowers adorned the house and relatives, teachers, officials and media persons gathered to welcome her. Missing her friends and eager to talk, the child cheerfully greeted those who had come to see her. Overwhelmed with emotion, her father told her, “Beta, you have done a great job. Now people will know me as the father of a Sherani.”But amid the relief over her recovery, the family has taken a difficult decision. Traumatised by the incident, they have decided to shift both the girl and her elder sister from their current government school.Her father, who runs a small salon in a village near Panchkula, said the family wants to give the child time to heal before making a fresh start. “We will let her recover and rest for a few months. After that, we will change her school because being there may bring back memories of the incident and the trauma she endured,” he told TOI.The girl’s elder sister, too, has been deeply affected and has not returned to school since the incident. “She is scared of going back and fears something similar could happen to her. So we have decided to change her school as well,” the father said. The family’s elder son studies at a different school.For the girl’s uncle, her return home feels nothing short of a miracle. “It is like a second birth for her. The prayers and blessings of people from across the country have worked for her. She is very brave and will achieve something big in life. She has always told her father that she wants to become a doctor. She is very good in studies,” he said.The father said the child still has stitches and multiple head injuries that require care and monitoring. “Sometimes we get worried when she reacts because of the pain from her head injuries. She received excellent treatment at PGI, which played a major role in her recovery,” he added.In a gesture of support, a Panchkula-based social organisation has announced that it will bear the cost of the girl’s future education.The six-year-old was allegedly attacked by a Class III student in a vacant classroom. According to the allegations, she was struck repeatedly with a brick, hit with a dustbin, kicked in the face, slammed against a bench and dragged by her hair, leaving her critically injured. She was later referred to PGI for treatment.
