Phone of top law officer's wife snatched near Delhi's Mandi House

NEW DELHI: Snatchers targeted Aparna Mehta, wife of solicitor general Tushar Mehta, while she was returning from her evening walk at Canning Lane near Bengali Market in central Delhi on Sunday. Two men on a bike snatched her mobile phone, containing two SIM cards.
A shocked Mehta couldn't note down the registration number of the motorbike. She, however, saw the faces of the snatchers, who appeared to be in their 20s.After snatching her phone, they drove towards Bengali Market.
A hunt has been launched to nab the snatchers, who switched off the mobile phone, police said, adding that they seemed to be from other parts of the city.
In her statement, Mehta said the incident took place when she was going to Bengali Market to buy groceries. Mehta said her phone contained her personal data.
Mehta said she informed her family members after returning home. They then called police, and a team from Barakhamba Road police station reached Mehta's house near Mandi House and recorded her statement.
Headache for cops: Over 3,800 snatching cases this year
Acase under Section 356 (assault or criminal force in attempt to commit theft of property) and 379 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered. One of her aides said she had not suffered any injury. “She was startled by the sudden attack and could not react immediately. She raised an alarm but there was none nearby to help her,” he said.
The Delhi Police has been grappling with incidents of snatching in the last couple of months. There have been 3808 snatching cases registered until July 31. A Last month, a restaurant chef was stabbed to death near Defence Colony while trying to resist a snatching attempt. Meanwhile, a man wanted in more than 50 cases of dacoity and robbery was arrested by the special cell. The man, Riyazuddin, was earlier booked under the Gangsters Act for a sensational dacoity of Rs 25 lakh. He has been hiding in Delhi to avoid being tracked down by the police from the other states.
DCP (special cell) Pramod Kushwah said Riyazuddin and his accomplice, Mohammad Fahim, were caught with two countrymade pistols and four rounds. “A trap was laid by a team near the Yamuna Vihar area where the criminals were to arrive. They were tracked down and caught,” said Kushwah. Riyazuddin alone was involved in 21 snatching cases in Delhi and nearby cities.