Midnight horror: Two men chase, attack woman journalist's car in Delhi; held within hours

New Delhi: A midnight drive home turned into a nightmare for a woman journalist when two men on a two-wheeler allegedly chased her across Delhi's expressways, tried to block her way and smashed her car's rear windscreen with a stick.

The accused were arrested within hours, police said on Friday.

The 35-year-old woman, who works as a producer with a private television news channel, was returning to her Vasant Kunj home from her Noida Sector 129 office in the intervening night of October 30 and 31. Around 12:45 am, while she was driving on the Mahamaya flyover, two men on a scooter allegedly began following her after she overtook them.

"They tried to block my way and gestured for me to stop. I ignored them at first, but they continued chasing me. When my car halted in traffic, the pillion rider banged on my windscreen and tried to open the door. Later, he took out a stick and smashed my rear window when I was near DND," the journalist said in an audio clip.

Panick-stricken and fearing for her safety, she called one of her colleagues, who advised her to keep driving and not stop. She continued speeding until she reached near the Ashram flyover towards Lajpat Nagar, where she sought help from taxi drivers and called the Police Control Room (PCR) around 1:30 am.

A team from the Lajpat Nagar police station arrived promptly and ensured her safety. Since the incident had occurred under the jurisdiction of the Sun Light Colony police station, a case was registered there. Multiple teams were formed to identify and nab the culprits.

"CCTV footage from the route and nearby areas was examined. Within hours, both accused were traced and detained. They were identified as Shubham and Deepak, both previously involved in an Arms Act case registered at the Dabri police station earlier this year," an officer said.

The accused are being interrogated and further investigation is on to determine if they were involved in other such incidents, police added.

The officer also said every distress call from women is being treated with utmost seriousness and promptness.