New Delhi, (Samajweekly) A 66-year-old woman from Arunachal Pradesh recently died after she was forcibly dragged out of an e-rickshaw by an assailant on a motorcycle who then snatched her purse in north Delhi.
The victim, identified as Kesang Dorjee, had come to Delhi to meet her son Pasang, a local businessman. She had arrived in the capital with her family on December 16.
The fateful incident occurred while they were travelling from Majnu Ka Tila to the Metro station after having lunch at Tibet Colony on December 17 evening.
Dorjee was seated on one side of the e-rickshaw, with her daughters on the other when an unidentified person approached the vehicle and attempted to snatch her purse.
The woman resisted, leading to her being forcibly pulled out of the e-rickshaw. Dorjee succumbed to her injuries on December 21 at a hospital.
The incident highlights the increasing cases of snatching, a crime that instils fear in the minds of people, especially women, causing them to rethink venturing out alone on deserted streets.
While arrests in such cases are not uncommon, preventing these crimes remains a considerable challenge. However, official data gives a glimmer of hope, indicating a 13.2 per cent decline in snatching cases during the first eight months of 2023 compared to the same period last year.
As of August 15, the city reported 4,922 snatching cases this year, down from 5,671 cases recorded during the corresponding period in 2022. In 2021, the numbers stood at 4,468 cases till July 15.
Despite the overall decline, some incidents continue to make headlines. In August, a 23-year-old school teacher named Yuvika was attacked by three men who snatched her mobile phone while she was travelling in an auto-rickshaw.
Even though the perpetrators were later arrested, the incident underscored the persistent threat of snatching in the city.
The menace also extends beyond Delhi, as nearby Ghaziabad reported a tragic incident involving a 19-year-old girl, Kirti Singh, who lost her life during a mobile snatching incident.
The college student fell from a moving auto-rickshaw after two bike-borne men attempted to snatch her phone. Despite being hospitalised and on a ventilator, Kirti Singh succumbed to her injuries after a two-day struggle.
A senior Delhi Police officer said they are actively pursuing all snatching cases, with an increased focus on solving them.
The police attribute their improved solving rate to the implementation of multi-pronged strategies, including heightened night patrolling in vulnerable areas and the installation of high-tech CCTV cameras.
“Additionally, the police regularly identify and deploy resources to hotspot areas prone to snatching incidents,” said the official.
