In a bid to avert a snatching attempt, a 39-year-old woman sustained critical head injuries when she fell down from the auto-rickshaw while fighting off three men on a motorcycle in South Delhi's Moolchand flyover area, said police on Thursday.
The incident took place on December 27 at around 4 pm when the victim Sharmila Rai left her house in South Delhi's Sanwal Nagar area in an auto -rickshaw and since then she has been admitted to a private hospital in lajpat Nagar with critical head injuries and is currently on life saving support system.
According to police, Sharmila fell head-on and rolled for a few metres. She was going to Connaught Place with her husband, Rakesh Rai (43) and nephew, Gaurav (20) for shopping, when three criminals tried to snatch her bag containing cash.
Rakesh told The Pioneer that his wife was happy to go for winter shopping to Palika Bazaar to buy woolen clothes for their children. He said, "I sat in the center while Sharmila sat to my left and Gaurav sat to my right. When the auto-rickshaw reached the Moolchand flyover, three men wearing helmets appeared on the scene on a pulsar bike. They came near our auto and tried to snatch away Sharmila's bag but she resisted. They pulled the bag with such force that she fell out of the auto-rickshaw. She started bleeding and I took her to Moolchand hospital from where she was referred to Institute of Brain and Science hospital in lajpat Nagar area."
Rakesh said the trio managed to flee with Sharmila's bag, which contained, her mobile phone, my wallet and around Rs7,000 cash in new notes.
Sharmila lives with her husband and two daughters — Bhumika (10) and Belvia (4) — in a rented house in the block C of Sanwal Nagar in south Delhi. The couple had been living in the national Capital for the past 20 years. While Sharmila works as a beautician at a parlour in Nizamuddin, Rakesh works as a chef in the India International Centre (IIC). The family hails from Darjeeling in West Bengal.
"It all happened within a few minutes. Since that day, I have been running around only to get my wife treated. Doctors have told me that the surgery was successful but she will be kept in the ICU for the next 24 hours," Rakesh said on Thursday.
He said it is not the first time that Sharmila fought off with a group of snatchers. "A few months ago, when she was returning home after finishing work at the parlour at around 8:30 pm, two bike-borne men had tried to snatch her handbag, however, she managed to fight with them and save the bag".
A senior police official of the South district said teams have been formed to trace the accused persons at the earliest.
Since there are no CCTV cameras installed near the Moolchand flyover, the men have not been identified yet. However, investigations are on to trace the accused.
A case under Sections of assault or criminal force in an attempt to commit theft against unknown person has been registered at Defence colony police station.