Woman Dies After Falling Off Rickshaw, Men Who Attacked Her Seen On Camera

A 56-year-old woman died after falling off an e-rickshaw when three scooter-borne men snatched her purse in northwest Delhi's Prashant Vihar area, police said on Thursday. 

Sumitra Mittal was travelling in an e-rickshaw in Rohini's Sector-14 in Prashant Vihar Police Station limits when three persons on the scooter snatched her purse.

In the process, she fell from the e-rickshaw, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini) Pranav Tayal said.

She was admitted with injury in head to Bhagwati Hospital near Bharat Apartments, Rohini Sector-13, where she succumbed around 12 pm, the police said.

A case under sections 397 (robbery, or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered in Prashant Vihar Police Station, Tayal said.

A total of 15 teams were formed to identify and trace the accused.

Police checked the CCTV footage of the area and the three offenders were identified as Raju and Rohan, both residents of Rohini Sector-18, and Rahul, a resident of Badli.

The scooty used in the crime was found stolen from Badli area, Tayal said.

After identification of the accused, traps were laid and they were apprehended.

The house keys and Rs 200 which were in the purse of the victim have been recovered, the DCP said.

Rahul was previous involved in two criminal cases, police said. According to Delhi Police data, snatching cases had surged 12 per cent and fatal accidents rose by 18 per cent till July 2022. Delhi reported 5,024 cases of snatching and 4,468 fatal accidents last year, the data showed.

Arun Mittal, a nephew of Sumitra, said that his aunt was going to her sister's home when the incident took place.

"My aunt boarded an e-rickshaw from Rohini near her residence and was going to her sister's house in Prashant Vihar when the incident happened. From Prashant Vihar, both sisters had planned to go to their brother's place for Bhai Dooj.

"The accused tried to snatch her bag and we suspected that they attacked on her head also during the bid. The e-rickshaw driver took her to the hospital and later informed us, following which we rushed to the hospital where we got to know that she has died," Arun said.

He said that his uncle, Sumitra's husband, had died around 20 years ago. She had two sons who also died around seven years ago.

One of her sons was married and has a ten-year-old boy. She is survived by her daughter-in-law and the sole grandson. She used to run a small clothes shop on the ground floor of her house, Arun said.

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