Oh baby! Bag lifters turn innovative

Two women let loose a toddler and managed to steal the bag of a Delhi University (DU) professor at a restaurant in Connaught Place. Vijaita Singh reports.

Two women let loose a toddler and managed to steal the bag of a Delhi University (DU) professor at a restaurant in Connaught Place.

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The professor had gone for lunch with her friends when the women, in the garb of attending to the baby who was near the chair where the bag was kept, bent down and walked away with the bag. The bag contained cash, a mobile phone and other valuables.

Complainant Anita Banerjee, who teaches commerce at Indraprastha College.

The incident took place last week when Banerjee had gone for a lunch with her friends to Host Inn in F-Block.

While Banerjee had no clue where her bag had gone, she asked for the hotel’s CCTV footage.

“I had kept the bag under my chair. Two women along with a toddler were sitting behind us. In the CCTV footage I saw that the child came near my feet and the women on the pretext of picking up the child took away my bag. I would have not come to know about the involvement of the women had the hotel staff not shown me the footage,” Banerjee said.

She said police were reluctant register her complaint, but did so after viewing the footage.

“We have deployed teams to find out if the team is active at other hotels in the area,” said a senior police officer.