Woman falls from auto while fighting off snatchers near Delhi Police HQ

A woman fractured her arm and suffered injuries to her face and body when two snatchers on a motorcycle tried to grab her bag when she was travelling in an auto.

A woman fractured her arm and suffered injuries to her face and body when two snatchers on a motorcycle tried to grab her bag when she was travelling in an auto.

The police headquarters at ITO. The snatching incident took place a few hundred metres away from the building. (HT Photo)

The incident took place in Central Delhi’s IP Estate Area, about 200 metres away from the Delhi Police Headquarters, at 11.30 am on Tuesday.

A resident of East Delhi’s Krishna Nagar, Tanuja Malhotra, works in the hospitality sector. She was headed to her office in Sunder Nagar when the two men struck on the Ring Road towards Sarai Kale Khan, a little before the ITO junction.

“The snatchers tried to snatch my wife’s handbag just when the auto she was riding slowed down for a moment. But she fought back to save her bag,” Tanuja’s husband, Gaurav told HT.

However, when the snatchers pulled it with force, Tanuja fell off the running auto that had already picked up speed by then. “She landed on her left shoulder and suffered a fracture to her arm. She has also suffered severe injuries to her face and other body parts,” Gaurav said.

The snatchers, meanwhile, sped away with her bag containing two mobile phones, Rs 1,500 in cash and credit, debit and identity cards.

The auto driver tried to note down the motorcycle’s registration number, but could only catch the last four digits. “We don’t have any leads about the snatchers yet. They were most likely using a fake registration number plate,” said a senior police officer.

The injured woman, meanwhile, was rushed to Lok Nayak Hospital. However, unsatisfied with the treatment there, her family decided to move her to a private hospital. “Doctors have advised her 40 days of bed rest,” said Gaurav.

Gaurav said since much of Tuesday was spent in his wife’s treatment, the police registered a FIR the next day. A case of voluntarily causing hurt, assault while committing theft and of theft has been registered by the police.

This is the second such incident over the last three months. A woman fell off a running auto while trying to fight off motorcycle-borne snatchers on the Moolchand flyover on December 27 last year. The victim is yet to recover her ability to speak. The 39-year-old beautician, Sharmila Rai, had spent nine days in the ICU after she fell off the auto . The snatchers nabbed in February.