Delhi woman killed while trying to stave off snatchers

Police said the snatchers grabbed the purse containing cash and some identification documents of the woman, and sped away

New Delhi: A 56-year-old woman on her way to her sister’s home to celebrate Bhai Dooj died after she fell from a moving e-rickshaw, and was dragged while fighting back three snatchers on a scooter who took away her purse in outer Delhi’s Rohini Sector-13 on Wednesday morning.

All the three suspects who were identified from the footage of a CCTV camera were arrested on Thursday evening, the police said. (Getty Images)

Police said the snatchers grabbed the purse containing cash and some identification documents of the woman, and sped away.

All the three suspects who were identified from the footage of a CCTV camera were arrested on Thursday evening, police said. The added that the scooter used for snatching was stolen from Samaipur Badli area on Sunday afternoon.

“We have arrested all the three suspects and are interrogating them. The case has been cracked,” said deputy commissioner of police (Rohini) Pranav Tayal. He added that the suspects have been identified as Raju,18, Rahul,24, and Rohan,20. Raju and Rohan are residents of Rohini Sector-18 and Rahul lives in Badli area, he said.

“The house keys of the woman and ₹200, which were in her purse, have been recovered along with the scooter used in the crime,” said Tayal, adding that Rahul was previously involved in cases of theft.

The incident is the latest in a series of snatching cases in Delhi in which the victims suffered fatal or serious injuries besides losing their property. According to Delhi Police data, the city reported 5,024 snatching cases till July 15 this year -- 556 more than what was reported during the same period in 2021.

The incident took place at 10.30 am, barely 70 metres away from the Prashant Vihar police station. The police have registered a case of murder and robbery with attempt to cause death under Indian Penal Code sections 302 and 397. Investigators scanned footage from CCTV cameras installed around the crime spot to identify the suspects, the scooter used in the crime and the routes they took before and after the crime.

The woman’s family has claimed that she might have been attacked with a blunt object when she resisted the snatching bid. But the police said the preliminary autopsy report of the woman suggested that she might have died of a head injury caused due to her head hitting the road. The final autopsy report, however, is awaited, they said.

The woman, Sumitra Mittal, lived with her daughter-in-law, Neha Mittal, and 11-year-old grandson, Anant Mittal, at their house in Rohini Sector-16. Sumitra had lost her husband Subhash Mittal, a businessman dealing in electronic goods, 23 years ago, while her two sons died of different ailments between 2007 and 2015. Sumitra and Neha ran a handloom shop on the ground floor of their house.

Sumitra left home to go to sister’s residence in Prashant Vihar. They had planned to go to their parents’ house in Greater Kailash Part-1 to celebrate Bhai Dooj, said Purushottam Das Mittal, Sumitra’s brother-in-law.

“My sister-in-law took an e-rickshaw from the road outside her house. She was travelling alone when near Bharat Apartments in Sector-13, Rohini, three men on a scooter snatched her purse. We suspect that they hit her head with something because of which she suffered a serious injury. Apart from her purse, two gold rings that she was wearing are also missing,” said Purushottam.

Mintu Das, the e-rickshaw driver, knew Sumitra as she often hired him to go to a nearby Satsang Bhawan. Das said, “I immediately stopped my rickshaw and saw auntyji lying unconscious on the road. Some passersby stopped and helped me put her in my vehicle. I rushed her to a nearby hospital, and after admitting her, rushed back to her house to inform her family. I informed her daughter-in-law about the incident and took her to the hospital. The police recorded my statement and allowed me to leave around 3pm,” said Das.

The hospital authorities informed the police about the incident.

Police said Sumitra succumbed to her injuries during treatment around noon on Wednesday.

On February 7 this year, a 40-year-old woman suffered severe head injuries, slipped into a coma, and died 12 days later at a private hospital after she fell out of a moving e-rickshaw while resisting two snatchers on a bike who were trying to take her hand bag near a banquet hall in east Delhi’s Surajmal Vihar.

In August last year, a 38-year-old woman suffered injuries and later succumbed to them after she fell out of a moving e-rickshaw, and was dragged on the road by two bike-borne snatchers in outer Delhi’s Mangolpuri. The snatchers fled with her purse containing her cellphone and other articles.