Gritty 84-year-old woman foils robbery bid, three arrested

An 84-year-old woman displayed exemplary courage and got three robbers nabbed at her home in west Delhi, police said.

Posing as North Delhi Power Limited employees, the trio knocked at the door of Kaushalya Devi’s house at Mansarovar Garden on Tuesday when she was alone at about 2 pm. Kaushalya opened the door assuming that they had to note the reading of her electricity meter.

As they entered the house, one of the robbers, identified as Akhtar Hussain, caught hold of her. He warned her to keep quiet, ot he would kill her. The other two, Sujit Chatterji and Arun Singh, started searching the house.

Seeing Akhtar Hussain off guard, Kaushalya pushed him and ran outside the house, screaming for help. Her neighbours rushed to the spot, caught all the three robbers and informed police.

Kaushalya told police that she was all alone at her house as her son Rajendra Mohan Sharma and daughter-in-law Sunita Sharma were at their offices. Both of them are government employees.

A case of robbery was registered at Kirti Nagar police station against the three intruders.

During interrogation, Hussain told police that he had been arrested in robbery and murder cases earlier also when he was staying at Yamuna Pushta. In 2004, a jhuggi jhopri cluster there was demolished and he was allotted a hutment in JJ Colony Bawana. He came in contact there with Dharmender, who was then facing a financial crisis in his business. Dharmender told Hussain about elderly Kaushalya, saying she had lots of money.

Hussain shared the plan to rob the woman with his two accomplices.  Dharmender showed them Kaushalya's house and fled from the spot.

Dharmender was also arrested on Wednesday.

“The senior citizen has been rewarded for her resilience and fortitude,” said Devender Arya, additional deputy commissioner of police (west).