‘Now I think twice before taking that stretch’

He was lucky that the snatchers did not hurt him. However, the incident has left a scar on Ashok Gupta's mind. Faizan Haider reports.

His driver had taken leave for a day. So, 56-year-old Ashok Gupta decided to walk down home from the nearby Metro station. It turned out to be a mistake. While walking home, two bike borne-snatchers stopped ahead of him and robbed him off his bag and other valuables at knife-point.

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“Usually I commute by my car. But since my driver had taken leave for a day, I decided to take the Metro. It was 5:40 in the evening when I decided to walk home. As I reached Nirman Society, two men on a bike pulled up just ahead of me. They showed me a knife and snatched my bag. All this happened within a matter of seconds. I didn’t even get time to react. It wasn’t even dark at that time. I wonder what the situation is during the night,” said Gupta.

He was lucky that the snatchers did not hurt him. However, the incident has left a scar on his mind. “Now I think twice before taking that stretch. During night, I prefer to take someone along with me as I feel very unsafe on that stretch alone,” Gupta added.

The incident took place near the Mayur Vihar Extension Metro station which is poorly lit, making it easier for criminals to target innocent passersby. “The authorities should ensure that streetlights are properly lit and the police should carry out patrolling more often,” added Gupta.