Elderly woman injured in snatching incident near Red Fort, 2 held

New Delhi, Jun 10 (PTI) Two men riding a scooter allegedly snatched the handbag of a 63-year-old woman while she was travelling in a moving auto-rickshaw near the rear side of the Red Fort in north Delhi, an official said on Tuesday.

The accused were identified as Arjit Arora (31) and Ravi Malik (33), and were arrested on Sunday evening.

The incident occurred on Sunday when the victim, a freelance beautician residing in Civil Lines, was returning home from Daryaganj around 10.30 am. The accused on a grey scooter approached her auto, police said.

"The pillion rider forcefully snatched her handbag containing Rs 20,000 in cash, a silver chain and documents. During this, the woman fell from the moving auto-rickshaw and suffered injuries. She was later admitted to Tirath Ram Hospital," a senior police officer said.

A case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at Kotwali police station and an investigation was launched. The police eventually identified a scooter seen fleeing the area and traced its registration to Md Zeeshan Ahmed, the officer added.

However, they found that Zeeshan was not involved in the crime but had sold the scooter to another person. The police traced the suspects' movement to the Ansari Road area of Daryaganj.

Following raids, the police arrested the two accused on the same evening. "During interrogation, the duo confessed to the crime and revealed they were drug addicts and school dropouts," he said.

Malik disclosed that he had bought the scooter from Zeeshan two months ago for Rs 37,000 on monthly installments but had resorted to robbery due to financial constraints.

Police recovered the snatched handbag, Rs 6,000 in cash, and the two-wheeler used in the robbery. The accused had allegedly spent the remaining amount on drugs and leisure activities.

Arora has a prior record and was earlier involved in a theft case registered at Welcome Police Station, police said. Further investigation is underway. PTI SSJ HIG