Woman left with torn earlobe as snatchers strike in E Delhi
NEAR MANDAWALI METRO The victim said the masked men were in a hurry to escape as they were near two police stations; they snatched at the earring because she was taking time to remove it
NEWDELHI: A short delay in handing over her gold earring to robbers who held her hostage left a 34-year-old woman with a torn earlobe in east Delhi’s Madhu Vihar in the early hours of Monday, police said.
The victim, Poonam who launders clothes, said the unidentified men were in a hurry because they had struck near the Mandawali metro station, less than 300 metres from two police stations — Madhu Vihar and Mandawali — that operated from a single complex.
The crime is reminiscent of three such snatchings that left women with torn earlobes in a span of a week in west Delhi’s Uttam Nagar around the same time last year. The suspect in that case was caught while he was allegedly preparing to strike a fourth time.
In Monday’s crime, the robbers were allegedly armed with a pistol and a knife when they struck a couple — Poonam and her husband Ram Sagar, residents of Madhu Vihar.
The crime happened around half-past midnight while they were returning on a motorcycle from Noida after attending their nephew’s wedding.
“The two men were wearing helmets and riding a scooter. They had been following us for a long time on the pretext of seeking directions to Anand Vihar,” said Sagar.
As they approached the Mandawali metro station, the suspects suddenly intercepted the couple’s motorcycle and snatched their vehicle’s key. “They ordered my wife to part with her gold earrings,” said Sagar.
Sagar said he tried to resist and take the helmet off of one of the suspects. “The robber responded by pulling out a pistol and holding me hostage. The other robber then took my wife aside and asked her to remove her earrings,” Sagar said.
“The other robber held me at knifepoint. I removed the right ear earring easily, but the other one wasn’t coming off. The robbers were desperate to escape since we were near a police station. So, he snatched my earring while it was still on, leaving me with a torn ear,” said Poonam.
The suspects then allegedly rode away while the couple called the police who took them to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital where Poonam was given medical attention.
Jasmeet Singh, deputy commissioner of police (east), said that a case of causing hurt during robbery and wrongful restraint has been registered, but the suspects remain to be identified.
“We were neither able to see the faces of the robbers, nor were we in a situation to note down the registration number of the scooter,” the couple said. The couple noticed two helmet-wearing men on a scooter follow them, persistently asking them for directions to Anand Vihar. Thetheysuspectsaskthe womanremove tothehandkey tooverthehercouple’sgoldearrings, motorcycle and demand that the woman hand over her earrings.butherhusbandsagarattemptstriesto unmasktotaketheonehelmetofthem.ofheoneholds of the suspects off, but fails. The second suspect takes Poonamheratgun[-asidepoint. and holds her at knife-point. Poonam complies to their demand and gives them a earring. She finds it difficult to remove the other one. The "impatient" suspect pulls off the earring, tearing her earlobe. As they approached the Mandawali metro station, the suspects suddenly intercepted the couple’s motorcycle. The suspects then flee while the couple call the police for help. Poonam is taken to LBS Hospital where she gets medical assistance.