Delhi woman attacked during snatching dies of injuries

The woman, Kesang Dorjee, was in Delhi with her children, and was staying at the Arunachal Bhawan.

Five days after a 66-year-old woman from Arunachal Pradesh fell down from an e-rickshaw while resisting a snatching attempt in north Delhi’s Civil Lines, she succumbed to her injuries on Thursday night at a hospital in Dehradun. A first information report (FIR) was filed in the matter, and police may now add Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections pertaining to murder against the unknown suspect.

Delhi woman attacked during snatching dies of injuries

The woman, Kesang Dorjee, was in Delhi with her children, and was staying at the Arunachal Bhawan.

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At around 4pm on December 17, she was on her way to the Vidhan Sabha Metro station from Majnu ka Tila when a man on a black bike attempted to snatch her bag. Her son, Pasang, 45, told police that the bag contained ₹1 lakh, her phone, and ID cards.

The family was here in Delhi for Pasang’s liver treatment.

Though Dorjee resisted, the accused — who has not been arrested yet — managed to forcibly take the bag.

“The impact was such that she lost her balance and fell on the road. She sustained injuries on her face and head. The biker fled from the spot,” Pasang said.

The incident took place at the Khyber Pass traffic signal, and the biker approached Dorjee from the right side, said Pasang.

Based on his complaint, an FIR was filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 392 (robbery) and 394 (causing injuries while committing robbery), said deputy commissioner of police (north) Manoj Kumar Meena.

According to investigators, multiple police teams are working on the case but no one has been arrested yet.

“CCTV footage was obtained and analysed. Informers have also been activated. Dossiers of criminals with similar past records are also being checked,” said a police officer, who asked not to be named.

Dorjee was first rushed to Sant Parmanand Hospital, then shifted to a private hospital in Shalimar Bagh by her family, and finally to a hospital in Dehradun, where she died.

Passang on Friday said that they had moved his mother to Dehradun on Thursday because she was on ventilator support and they wanted her to be close to family as her maternal aunt lives in Dehradun.

“My father also passed away about a decade ago due to an illness and now my mother is also gone. The family is shattered,” he said.

According to data shared by the Delhi Police in Rajya Sabha on 6 December, 6,958 cases of snatching have been reported in 2023 till November 15, against 7,498 cases in the corresponding period last year.

At least 17 cases of violent snatching and robbery incidents have been reported this year so far.

Read here: Punjab Police constable held for snatching gold jewellery from courier in Sangrur

On September 14, a 50-year-old man, who worked at a private firm in southeast Delhi’s Jasola Vihar, was stabbed to death, allegedly by three men who robbed him of his cellphone in Sarita Vihar.

The three suspects were arrested later.