Delhi: 61-year-old woman thwarts 2 snatchers; bystanders catch suspects

NEW DELHI: Displaying remarkable courage, a 61-year-old woman, with the help of bystanders, managed to thwart two motorcycle-borne men who tried snatching her purse in northwest Delhi's Model Town.

The suspects were caught by the crowd and handed over to police.The incident took place on Oct 8. Ruby Sablok, a resident of Model Town, told cops she had gone to the market near D Park in the afternoon to shop for Karwa Chauth. Around 1.45pm, as she reached the tent house near the park, a red motorcycle carrying two youths pulled up beside her."The pillion suddenly struck me on the back of my head with a blunt object. I asked them what they hit me with.

The rider then attempted to snatch my brown bag, which was hanging on my right shoulder and contained two envelopes with Rs 1,100 each," Sablok said in her police complaint.

As the duo started tugging at the bag, its strap got caught in the woman's hand. She held on tightly but was dragged, causing the strap to eventually snap. While it caused her to fall too, she raised the alarm and tried chasing the men. Passersby saw the commotion, quickly came to her aid, and caught hold of the two suspects.

Two policemen on duty nearby arrived at the scene and took the men into custody. The woman was taken to a hospital, where she received 12 stitches for her injuries. "My children later told me I should have let go of the bag, but I kept thinking it contained my belongings," Sablok, who is a homemaker, told TOI.The suspects were identified as Shushil (24) and Amit Sharma (32), both from Aliganj in UP. During interrogation, they told police they came to Delhi to visit a relative in Mukundpur and were planning to start a food cart business.

However, when their funds ran low, they resorted to robbery, they said.A case was registered under BNS sections 309(4) (attempted robbery), 317(2) (stolen property), and 3(5) (common intention) at Model Town police station. DCP (Northwest) Bhisham Singh announced plans to felicitate the woman for her bravery and quick response.