New Delhi: Congress MP R Sudha sustained minor injuries after her gold chain was snatched by unidentified persons in the diplomatic enclave of Chanakyapuri here while she was out on a morning walk on Monday, police said.
Chanakyapuri houses several embassies and official residences of state governments.
The MP from Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu wrote to the Union Home Ministry about the incident, saying she had been left traumatised by the incident. If a woman cannot walk safely in this high-security area in the national capital of India, where else can one feel safe, she said.
A senior police officer said the incident occurred near the Embassy of Poland in Chanakyapuri around 6 am. The suspect came on a scooter and slowed down near the MP.
“At that moment, a miscreant snatched her chain and fled the spot. The Congress MP shouted for help, but no bystanders came forward. Another member of Parliament from Tamil Nadu was accompanying her at the time,” he said in a statement issued by Delhi Police.
A Delhi Police Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) noticed the situation and was informed about the chain snatching. The MP was advised to give a formal complaint at the police station. But after a Police Control Room (PCR) call from Tamil Nadu Bhavan, the SHO met her and took a formal complaint, the officer said.
“Congress MP Sudha eventually addressed the matter directly to the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah,” he said, adding that she suffered minor injuries on her neck.
Sudha, who is attending the ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament, is staying at Tamil Nadu Bhavan in Chankyapuri.
“A case has been registered and an investigation is underway. We are also waiting for the MLC report to confirm the nature of the injury. Multiple police teams have been deployed to trace the accused and examine CCTV footage from the vicinity,” another police officer said.
Police are also speaking to eyewitnesses and checking for any suspicious movements reported in the area during the time of the incident. Security around Tamil Nadu Bhavan and nearby stretches has been stepped up, officials said.
In her letter to Union Home Minister Shah, Sudha narrated her ordeal.
“I am regularly attending the parliamentary proceedings and other constitutional duties like parliamentary committee meetings… in New Delhi. As the official accommodation for some of the Hon’ble MPs like me is yet to get ready in New Delhi, I am staying at Tamil Nadu House for the past one year,” she said.
“It is my habit to go for a morning walk whenever I find time,” she said, adding that she was accompanied by Rajya Sabha MP Rajathi at the time of the incident.
Around 6.15-6.20 am on Monday, she said, a man, whose helmet covered his entire face, came on a scooter from the opposite direction, snatched her gold chain and fled.
“As he pulled the chain from my neck, I have suffered injuries on my neck, and my churidhar also got torn in the impact. I somehow managed to not fall, and both of us cried for help,” she said.
“Sir, this blatant attack on a woman, who is a Member of Parliament, in a high-security zone like Chanakyapuri which is full of embassies and protected institutions, is highly shocking to say the least. If a woman cannot walk safely in this high-priority zone in the national capital of India, where else can we feel safe and do our routine without fearing for our limbs, lives, and valuables,” Sudha wrote to Shah.
“… I am highly traumatised by this criminal attack. I, therefore, request your good self to direct the authorities concerned to ensure that the culprit is tracked down with the help of umpteen CCTV cameras in this ‘high-security’ zone and arrested. Kindly ensure my gold chain is restored and justice rendered to me expeditiously,” she said.
Police said multiple teams are working to identify the accused and the route taken by them.
