25-year-old killed during snatching bid in Delhi
NEW DELHI: A 25-year-old woman was stabbed to death when she fought back against a snatcher in north-west Delhi’s Adarsh Nagar on Saturday night.
A CCTV footage of the incident, which was widely shared on social media on Sunday, shows the attacker first lunging at the chain of the woman, identified as Simran Kaur, as she is returning home from a nearby market with her mother and two-year-old daughter. Simran, however, immediately fights back, catching the snatcher offguard and forcing him to retreat. As the snatcher flees, he fishes out a knife and stabs Simran multiple times, before escaping with an accomplice waiting on a scooter nearby. A security guard, on duty in the area, is also seen in the footage chasing the man on foot. Simran later collapsed just a few feet away from her house due to blood loss in front of her twoyear-old.
Police said they have arrested two men from Jahangirpuri for the murder.
In Delhi, snatching cases had gone up by 27.11% in 2020 when compared to the previous year, data released by Delhi Police, during their annual press conference earlier this month showed. A snatching occurs in Delhi every 1 hour 6 minutes, the police data showed.
According to investigators, Saturday’s incident took place between 9pm and 9.15pm when Simran — who lives with her husband in Patiala and had been in north Delhi’s Adarsh Nagar visiting her parents — was returning from a local flea market. Eyewitnesses and local residents said when Simran and her mother Mamta Kaur entered lane number seven from Rajan Babu Road, to reach their home, the snatcher approached them from behind.
A police officer, who wished not to be named, said it has been established during initial probe that the man extended his arm to grab Simran’s chain or valuables, immediately alerting her and making her turn around. “Her two-year-old daughter, whom she was carrying in her arms, fell on the road as Simran lost balance while trying to fight back. The snatcher also fell while trying to flee. Seeing himself trapped, the man got up and stabbed Simran twice in her chest with a knife and managed to run away,” the officer said.
The CCTV then shows Simran picking up her daughter again. However, she collapsed just a few seconds later, right in front of her parents house.
The security guard, Deepak Tiwari, who was on duty at the time of the incident, said he was on the other end of the lane where Simran’s parent’s house is located. “It was roughly around 9.10pm when I heard her cry for help. I saw a man was attacking her and I chased after him. However, he jumped on a scooter, on which his accomplice was waiting, and they sped away. I could not see his face or note down scooter’s registration number,” said Tiwari, who has been working in the area as a security guard for the last two-and-a-half years.
Simran was rushed to Fortis Hospital in Shalimar Bagh, where she died during treatment. The crime was reported to the police around 9.45pm.
On Sunday evening, deputy commissioner of police (northwest) Usha Rangnani in a statement said that multiple teams were formed to arrest the accused and following multiple raids, the two men – Fardeen,19, and Aqibul, 22, both residents of Jahangirpuri — were arrested. The weapon used in Simran’s murder and the scooter that the men had used to flee the spot, were recovered following their arrests, the statement said.
A Special Investigations Team (SIT) has also been formed to further probe the incident.
On one side of the spot where Simran was killed, is her brother’s photo studio and on the other side is here father Daler Singh’s house, both less than 20 metres away from the spot where she collapsed .
Local residents said there is also a police booth which is fifty metres away from the spot but mostly remains unmanned.
Simran’s cousin, Taranjit Singh, 20, who lives in the same neighbourhood said the incident was unfortunate and tragic. “I got a call late night informing that she had to be rushed to hospital. When I reached hospital, she was in the operation theatre, where she succumbed,” Singh said.
When contacted, deputy commissioner of police (northwest) Usha Rangnani did not respond to calls and messages. Police also tweeted on Sunday, “Two arrested for murder of a young woman, committed in desperate attempt of snatching in Adarsh Ngr. Reaffirming our commitment to #Zerotolerance to crime for safety & security of citizens, @Delhipolice dedicated to swift & professional investigation.”
A CCTV FOOTAGE OF THE INCIDENT SHOWS THE ATTACKER FIRST LUNGING AT THE CHAIN OF THE WOMAN AS SHE IS RETURNING HOME FROM A MARKET