Two bike-borne men snatched a gold chain from a woman in her early 60s who was out on her morning walk in Salt Lake’s EE Block on Sunday morning, police said.
The incident highlighted once more the vulnerability of elderly residents of Salt Lake. Zakiya Rahman set out from her flat around 7am and barely reached the park in the block, a seven-minute walk from her house, when a motorcycle screeched to a halt right beside her.
“The two-wheeler was moving at a high speed and I moved left to let the bike pass. But the rider pulled up right beside me. Before I could react, the pillion-rider pushed me and snatched my chain. I nearly fell and the bike sped away,” Rahman said.
She then shouted to alert others about the snatchers.
Other morning walkers and guards of the buildings near the park rushed to the site, but the bikers had fled by then towards the canal bank road that skirts the block and leads to EM Bypass.
The spot where the chain was snatched
Rahman, who taught Arabic and Persian languages at Calcutta University, was escorted back to her house by some walkers.
“She was shaking when she rang the doorbell. As soon as she stepped in, she told me that her chain had been snatched. I immediately called up the police,” said husband Badiur Rahman.
The couple have been living in Salt Lake for more than 20 years and this was the first time they faced such an incident.
A team from Bidhannagar East police station visited the house.
“The lady could not give the registration number of the two-wheeler. We are looking for footage of CCTV cameras installed in houses in the area,” said an officer of the police station.
Several elderly people in Salt Lake who go out for walks in the morning and evening said they were living in fear.
“This happened right on the main road beside the park at a time when many elderly people go out for a walk. The police must ramp up their vigil and intensify patrolling at all times,” said Partho Chakraborty, a resident of EE block.
Another EE Block resident Samar Dey, 78, said he would not step out for his walk for the time being.
“As it is, we are cooped up for fear of contracting Covid. The morning walk was the only time when I would step out but after getting news of the snatching, I have decided not to go out till the snatchers are caught,” said Dey.
No one was arrested till late on Sunday.