May 11: Two teenaged girls were attacked by an unidentified assailant in the Chanakyapuri area on Tuesday morning when they had gone out of their school to get some papers photocopied.
The victims, identified as Ridhika, 17, and Tanvi, 16, both students of Class 12 at Carmel Convent School, were returning from the Malcha Marg market in Chanakyapuri at around 11 am after getting their study material photocopied when an unidentified assailant started following them.
“As they approached the market, the assailant intercepted the two girls and asked them to hand over their belongings, including their jewellery and cash. The girls got scared and started removing their jewellery. However, the assailant, fearing getting caught by the public, lost patience and snatched Rs 500 from Ridhika. He then slashed the arms of the two girls with a sharp blade and fled,” an investigating officer said.
In the meantime, the girls started screaming for help. The police was informed by a passerby but the assailant managed to escape from the spot. The two girls were taken to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital where Radhika received 42 stitches on her arm while Tanvi got 35. The two were later discharged from the hospital. Tanvi lives in Gurgaon.
“My daughter is in trauma. We don’t know what went wrong or who could be behind this,” Ridhika’s father, Rajan Bhasin, who runs a glass manufacturing unit here, said. The family lives in East of Kailash in southeast Delhi.
The police said a case of robbery along with other relevant sections has been registered at the Chanakyapuri police station and efforts are on to trace the attacker. A flower vendor and a photocopy shop employee were nearby when the incident took place. The official said they could not act as they were frightened. A manhunt has been launched to nab the assailant.