Fleeing snatchers fire at woman teacher in Patti

Fleeing snatchers shot at their victim, a woman teacher from Mamta Niketan Convent in Tarn Taran, on Monday afternoon at Patti's Bahmani Wala Chowk.

Fleeing snatchers shot at their victim, a woman teacher from Mamta Niketan Convent in Tarn Taran, on Monday afternoon at Patti's Bahmani Wala Chowk.

The two men on a motorcycle had followed Aanchal Sharma of Patti after she had come out of school on a two-wheeler. "They grabbed her purse and shot her even though she put up no fight," said the victim's father-in-law, Jeet Ram Sharma, a railway employee in Amritsar.

Anchal, mother of a boy aged five, is married to Pankaj Sharma. She fell down after being shot but was fortunate that some people took her to a nearby hospital. "Since the injuries were serious, she had to be referred to a private hospital in Amritsar," said the teacher's father-in-law. Anchal is said to be out of danger.

The family wonders why the Patti police don't take any action, if they are aware of the increased criminal activity in the area.

"They claim to be investigating now. If they want, they can catch the two culprits. Until then, no woman in the area is safe, since it happened 100 yards from police security, in a very silent area, where we are sure the cops must have heard the gunshot," said Jeet Ram Sharma.