Woman falls off auto trying to fight snatchers
I was too shocked to note down the bike’s number. The auto driver came out with me, picked my mother and brought us to the hospital.
MAHAK, victim’s daughter
NEW DELHI: A 50-year-old woman was grievously injured when she fell off a moving auto while trying to save her purse from motorcycle-borne snatchers in north Delhi on Monday afternoon.
Jyoti Bakshi remained unconscious for about 24 hours at the Sushruta Trauma Centre. When she regained consciousness on Tuesday afternoon, she was unable to recognise her family, said her daughter, Mahak Bakshi.
Jyoti is a resident of Haridwar in Uttarakhand. She came to the NCR a few days ago to visit her daughter, Mahak, who was unwell. Mahak, 25, works as a medical transcriptionist at a hospital in Noida. The incident took place when the mother-daughter duo was on their way to Kashmere Gate ISBT in an auto. They wanted to catch a bus to Haridwar. Accused targeted them when the auto reached Ring Road behind Red Fort.
“A bike came from behind and started moving parallel on my mother’s side. There were two men on it. Both were wearing helmets. Suddenly, the man riding pillion snatched her purse. My mother lost her balance and fell off the auto, landing head first on the road,” Mahak said.
Jyoti’s reflex action was to try to save her purse but she fell off the moving auto, badly hurting her head in the process and immediately falling unconscious.
“I was too shocked to note down the bike’s number. When I came to my senses, I shouted and the driver stopped. He came out with me, picked up mother, put her back in the auto and brought us to hospital,” she said.
The robbers managed to get away with Jyoti’s purse which also contained Mahak’s small purse. The duo lost their mobile phones, several cards, identity proofs and ₹7,000 cash.
“The robbers appeared to be in their early 20s,” Mahak said.
When a police team reached the hospital, Jyoti was found unconscious and unfit to give a statement. “She has received injuries on both sides of her head,” the daughter said.
The police, meanwhile, are yet to identify the suspects.
Jyoti arrived in the national capital from Haridwar on Sunday to take care of Mahak who was suffering from dengue.
On Monday afternoon, the mother-daughter duo started from Noida, thinking that soon they will join the rest of the family in Haridwar, where Mahak would be taken care of.
However, Jyoti landed in a hospital before they could board a bus to Haridwar. When she opened her eyes 24 hours later, she couldn’t recognise Mahak.