A woman, who said she is the daughter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brother, was targeted by snatchers in north Delhi’s Civil Lines on Saturday, the police said.
The police have registered a case and launched a probe.
The victim, who identified herself as Damyanti Vikas Modi, a resident of Surat, said she had gone to Gujarati Samaj guest house in an autorickshaw around 6.45 a.m. when the incident happened. “We had come from Amritsar to Old Delhi railway station and took an autorickshaw from there. We were in the auto outside Gujarati Samaj guest house when two persons came on a scooter and snatched my bag and fled,” she said.
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Ms. Modi then called the police control room after which officers reached the spot and subsequently her statement was recorded at Civil Lines police station.
“I had over ₹50,000, two mobile phones, my Aadhaar card and other identity cards and travel documents. I hope I don’t face problems while traveling in the evening,” she said.
The victim said that she had been travelling with her family since October 4 and reached Delhi on Saturday morning to take a flight back home to the Gujarat in the evening. “I was in Delhi for about six hours and I had the worst experience. I had to spend most of my time with the police,” she said, adding that police were helpful.
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Ms. Modi said she is the daughter of Prahlad Modi, the PM’s brother, but never mentioned the same at the guest house or to the police “because it’s irrelevant”.
Talking about the investigation, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Monika Bhardwaj said that a case under Sections 356 (assault or criminal force in attempt to commit theft of property carried by a person) and 379 (punishment for theft) of the IPC has been registered.
“I personally met the victim and 15 teams are working on the case. CCTV footage of areas starting from the railway station to the guest house have been obtained and the process of identification of the accused is on. Several suspects have been rounded up for questioning,” she said.
After the incident, AAP took potshots at the Modi government, saying the incident reflects the “miserable and pathetic” law and order situation in the Capital.
‘From bad to worse’
“With each passing day, the law and order situation is going from bad to worse. The alacrity that Delhi Police shows in chasing political opponents of the BJP is completely absent when it comes to providing safety to people,” AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha said.
“It is all the more shocking that such an incident took place near the residences of the L-G and the Chief Minister,” he said.
He added that the Home Ministry should take immediate and strong measures to restore law and order in Delhi. In the past couple of months, several incidents of snatching have been reported in the national capital.
(With inputs from PTI)