Daring 19-Year-Old Delhi Girl Fights Off And Catches Phone Snatcher

New Delhi: For 19-year-old Kritika Matta, it was day like any other and she was on her way home after teaching at a coaching centre. But within moments she was compelled to make a choice that she had not thought about before.

A man on a motorcycle approached her from behind and tried to snatch her phone. Kritika says she decided to confront him and resisted hard. When he finally managed to take the phone, she caught him by the collar and refused to let him go.

This gave time for help to arrive. A neighbour came and took out the keys from the man's motorcycle and ran off with him. The thief followed Kritika's neighbour, only to be caught ahead by a crowd.

"For a moment I was left torn and did not know what to do. But then I resisted and caught him by the collar. I tried to shake him off his bike," the college student says.

"I remembered the self-defence training we were given by Delhi Police when I was in school. That and the campaigns urging women to stand up to criminals like him made all the difference," she says.

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Kritika's father Rajesh Matta is proud of her daughter. "If girls start standing up to crime like her we would have a different kind of society. I urge all parents to instil this kind of confidence in their children," he said.

The Police have also lauded Kritika. She will be felicitated and rewarded for her bravery, a top police officer said.

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But Kritika says that she didn't think of bravery or consequences when she was confronted with the choice. "I just thought that I should not let him get away with it," she says.