Delay in handing over her earring to robbers leaves woman with torn ear lobe in east Delhi

After snatching the woman’s earrings, the suspects allegedly rode away while the couple called the police who took them to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital where Poonam was given medical attention.

A short delay in handing over her gold earring to robbers who held her hostage, left a 34-year-old woman with a torn ear lobe in east Delhi’s Madhu Vihar in the early hours of Monday, police said.

The two men were wearing helmets and had been following the couple for a long time on the pretext of seeking directions to Anand Vihar. (HT File / Photo used for representational purpose)

The victim, Poonam who launders clothes, said the unidentified men were in a hurry because they had struck near the Mandawali metro station, less than 300 metres from two police stations — Madhu Vihar and Mandawali — that operated from a single complex.

The crime is reminiscent of three such snatching that left women with torn ear lobes in a span of a week in west Delhi’s Uttam Nagar around the same time last year. The suspect in that case was caught while he was allegedly preparing to strike a fourth time.

In Monday’s crime, the robbers were allegedly armed with a pistol and a knife when they struck a couple — Poonam and her husband Ram Sagar, residents of Madhu Vihar.

“The two men were wearing helmets and riding a scooter. They had been following us for a long time on the pretext of seeking directions to Anand Vihar,” said Sagar.

As they approached the Mandawali metro station, the suspects suddenly intercepted the couple’s motorcycle and snatched their vehicle’s key. “They ordered my wife to part with her gold earrings,” said Sagar.

Sagar said he tried to resist and take the helmet off of one of the suspects. “The robber responded by pulling out a pistol and holding me hostage. The other robber then took my wife aside and asked her to remove her earrings,” Sagar said.

“The other robber held me at knifepoint. I removed the right ear earring easily, but the other one wasn’t coming off. The robbers were desperate to escape since we were near a police station. So, he snatched my earring while it was still on, leaving me with a torn ear,” said Poonam.

The suspects then allegedly rode away while the couple called the police who took them to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital where Poonam was given medical attention.

Jasmeet Singh, deputy commissioner of police (east), said that a case of causing hurt during robbery and wrongful restraint has been registered, but the suspects remain to be identified.

“We were neither able to see the faces of the robbers, nor were we in a situation to note down the registration number of the scooter,” the couple said.