NEW DELHI: A 56-year-old woman was critically injured and later succumbed after she fell down from an e-rickshaw when three scooter-borne men snatched her purse in the national capital, an official said Thursday. The three accused men – identified as Raju, 18, Rohan, 20 and Rahul, 24 – have been arrested by the police on the day.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini) Pranav Tayal said a PCR call was received at Prashant Vihar police station stating that a woman, identified as Sumitra Mittal has been admitted to Bhagwati Hospital due to a head injury after which the police reached the Hospital and it was revealed that the said woman had fallen down from a rickshaw due to snatching a handbag by three people.
“Due to this she sustained head injuries and was admitted to the Hospital. During treatment, she was declared dead by the doctors,” DCP Tayal said. Accordingly, the police registered a case under sections 397 (Robbery, or dacoity, with an attempt to cause death or grievous hurt), 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and began probing the incident after constituting as many as 15 teams.
“Each team was assigned a specific task like examining the CCTV footage, identifying the route map of the offenders, developing the information from the local sources and taking the help from the criminal record, Facial Recognition System,” the senior official said.
After the identification of the accused people, the police laid traps and apprehended all three of them. The accused Rahul was previously found involved in two separate cases of theft.
Rising snatching incidents
The rising figures of snatching incidents, one of the most ruthless and blatant crimes that instil fear in the minds of the people, especially women, have possibly forced people to avoid going out alone on lonely or deserted streets.
In most cases, the police get hold of the criminals but a way to prevent such crimes still seems a distant dream. According to the data compiled by Delhi Police, there has been a surge of 12.5 per cent in snatching incidents this year.
25 incidents of snatching per day: police data
In the first six months of 2022, the city has reported 5,024 snatching incidents, taking out an average of over 25 incidents every day. In 2021, Delhi had recorded 4,468 such kinds of street crime till July 15, 556 less than the current year.