Cop’s wife injured in attack by snatchers near Delhi zoo

NEW DELHI: A 54-year-old woman suffered injuries to her head, face, knees and hands and had to be admitted to the hospital after two snatchers on a bike pulled her gold chain at a bus shelter near Delhi zoo on Tuesday morning. The victim, Jeemol Shaji, is a senior nursing officer at Lok Nayak Hospital. Her husband is an assistant sub-inspector with Delhi Police.

In the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index for 2019, released on September 4, New Delhi dropped six places to 118, from 112 last year, as there’s been an increase in petty crime cases over the past year, as well as recording some of the world’s worst air quality levels, the report says. As per data on the Delhi Police website, 4,273 cases of snatching have been reported till August (18 cases every day). Last year, during the same duration, 4,410 snatching cases had been reported.

Shaji also had swelling around her eyes as she fell face down on the road with the frame of her eyeglasses puncturing the skin around the eyes. She was waiting for a bus to the hospital after de-boarding another bus, which she had taken from near her house in south Delhi’s Ashram, when the crime took place around 7.30am, police said.

“Some other people were also present at the bus stop. Two men on a motorcycle stopped a few feet away from me. The man riding pillion came near me and tried to snatch my gold chain. I immediately responded and held the chain with my hand,” said Shaji.

Shaji said while resisting the snatching bid she started hitting the man with her handbag and screamed for help. The man panicked and pushed her to pull away her gold chain. The snatcher grabbed the chain and pulled it hard, she said.

“I lost balance because of the sudden jerk and fell on the road. My face hit the road and I started bleeding from my nose. There was blood all over my clothes and bag. My cellphone was also soaked in blood because of which I could not inform my husband about the incident,” she said, adding that the snatchers sped away with her gold chain.

A woman standing nearby helped Shaji board an autorickshaw. She then called her husband, an ASI posted in south east district of Delhi Police, from the woman’s phone and told him about the incident. She told him that she was rushing to the Lok Nayak hospital. Since Shaji suffered injuries to her head as well, she underwent a Ct-scan. The medical report confirmed that the injuries were not life threatening though the crime caused multiple wounds to her face and other parts of the body.

Deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) Eish Singhal said a case of robbery with common intention under sections 392 and 34 of Indian Penal Code was registered at the Tilak Marg police station. “We have rounded up some criminals involved in similar crimes. Teams have been formed and CCTV cameras are being scanned for clues,” said Singhal.

In June, two women were injured in two similar snatchings in east Delhi’s GTB Enclave

Another woman, Laxmi Devi, 50, was hurt when she fell off a motorbike after criminals snatched the cellphone of another woman, who was sitting between her and the rider.

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019*