Who is the man knocking on Delhi doors with a sickle? Woman opens gate, then…

New Delhi,UPDATED: May 12, 2026 13:46 IST

An unidentified man has triggered panic in Delhi’s Pitampura and Keshavpuram areas over the past few days. Carrying a bag and wearing a seemingly normal smile, the man has been roaming around residential colonies in broad daylight, ringing doorbells and attempting to commit crimes whenever he gets an opportunity. What has shocked residents the most is that the accused has been clearly captured in several CCTV cameras, yet he remains out of police custody nearly 20 days later.

PREYING ON WOMEN ALONE AT HOME

According to local residents, the accused uses clever disguises, posing at times as a delivery boy, an RO mechanic, or a repairman for ACs and refrigerators while knocking on doors. He specifically targets afternoons, when women or children are often alone at home.

Fear among residents intensified after an incident in the Keshavpuram area on May 8. CCTV footage showed the accused ringing multiple doorbells. When no one opened the doors, he went up to a second-floor apartment. As soon as a woman opened the door, the accused tried to force his way inside while pretending to be a mechanic.

Within seconds, he pulled out a large sharp sickle from his bag.

The accused panicked after the woman raised an alarm and pushed her aside before fleeing. He was still seen carrying the weapon while escaping. A woman present at the scene said the accused threw away a sickle-like sharp weapon near a park before running away.

The woman quickly shut the door after opening it.

RWA president RK Gulati said the accused rang the bells of six to eight houses in C-3 Block. Fortunately, he could not carry out a major crime. One woman did open the door, but immediately shut it after becoming suspicious.

EARLIER CASES OF ROBBERY

Investigators have also found that this was not the first such incident. Earlier, on April 21, a similar crime took place in Pitampura’s Maurya Enclave area. The accused allegedly entered a house pretending to be someone familiar to the family and then held a teenager hostage at knifepoint.

He reportedly escaped with around Rs 4 lakh in cash and gold jewellery worth nearly Rs 25 lakh.

The injured teenager’s father said every doorbell in Delhi now triggers fear. Residents are repeatedly checking CCTV cameras before opening their doors.

Meanwhile, police are scanning CCTV footage and conducting raids to trace the accused, who still remains at large. Residents say the way he has been fearlessly carrying out such crimes raises serious questions over the security arrangements in these colonies.

Now, all eyes are on whether the police can track him down before he strikes again.

- Ends