Shimla, September 27
A 61-year-old woman running a roadside dhaba at Baruwag along National Highway-05 in Himachal Pradesh’s Kumarsain was allegedly robbed in broad daylight after a man posing as a customer sprayed chilli powder into her eyes and fled with her gold mangalsutra.
According to the police, the incident took place on Saturday when the man arrived at the dhaba around 9.30 am, ordered tea and parathas and remained there for nearly two-and-a-half hours. The woman, Kanku Devi, had started the dhaba with her husband Sundar Lal about a month ago. Around 11 am, her husband left for Narkanda market to buy some personal items. At around noon, Kanku Devi was washing utensils outside the dhaba when the suspect allegedly approached her from behind and threw chilli powder into both her eyes. As she struggled with burning and blurred vision, the man allegedly snatched her gold mangalsutra and escaped.
Kanku Devi raised an alarm, but there was reportedly no one nearby to respond. She told police that the chilli powder left her unable to see the direction in which the accused fled. The woman described the suspect as being around 25-30 years old. He was allegedly wearing a white checked shirt, black trousers with white stripes and black shoes. She told police that the mangalsutra had been purchased around 15 years ago for Rs 10,000.
Kumarsain police have registered a case under Section 304(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and launched an investigation. Assistant Sub-Inspector Kishori Lal is investigating the case. Police are attempting to identify and trace the accused based on the description provided by the woman and other leads gathered during the investigation.
The incident is the second reported case in the Kumarsain area this month in which a woman was allegedly targeted using chilli powder.On September 14, Suno Devi, a resident of Latyana, had complained that an unidentified man threw chilli powder into her eyes while she was returning home from Kandiyali market through a forest path. The man allegedly then snatched gold earrings from both her ears.
Kumarsain police had also registered a case under Section 304(2) of the BNS in that incident. The recurrence of similar incidents has raised concerns among residents, while police are investigating both cases.
