[Pallavi]

Originally Posted by prasadee

I do not think it is a good idea to use a pepper spray while inside a car. Chances are very little of the spray would get out of the 2 inches the window was opened. Most of it would stay inside the car affecting the driver more than the attacker.

You will have to put the nozzle near the glass, a little slanted so that the nozzle is a bit outside and spray it. I checked out few videos and practised. Better be cautious than a victim.

Originally Posted by prasadee

Also when you are outside it is not really useful in our typical mob situation, where there is some intolerance towards women car drivers, and an assumption that they are at fault.

The people out there will not come to anyone's rescue, neither the attackers nor the victims. So unless this fellow has a huge gang with him, it will stun him even for a few secs, giving you the time to move away from that place.

Originally Posted by prasadee

I do like the idea though. I ask women in my family to carry one. It could prove to be useful when they are alone.

It is becoming a must have even for guys.

This reminds me of an incident which happened long back, but still manages to make me shiver.

I was in my third trimester and slogging to meet the deadlines at work. I was delayed and reached the area near my house at 11:30pm. The cab dropped me on the main road and i took an auto for the next 1km. The autowala asked Rs.50. I agreed. When i was about to get down near my house, he asked for Rs.100. When i refused, he started pulling my handbag.

Then my watchman's wife came out hearing the commotion and started beating him with a broom. He took off.

1-2 mins passed during this time but all i did was sit and stare. The only thought was that my baby should be safe. I was so shaken that i opted for maternity leave from the next day.

[IronH4WK]

that's just horrible what happened to you!

glad that you're alright. like Suhaas and Paaji have said before, considering the circumstances you handled yourself very well (not many can do that)

regarding the phone, not sure how you're going to retrieve it (if at all). had you insured your phone?

please do carry a can (or two) of pepper spray in your handbag; better safe than sorry.

also, thank you for sharing this incident; i'm sure many people will benefit from this incident and be prepared in case they find themselves in similar situation.

[sgiitk]

Well let me say two things. First of all it is nice to see that the ladies are also here. I may sound like a MCP but these are my feelings.

I cannot but sympathise with you and be tnankful to the almighty that things were not worse.

Originally Posted by nozzlering

Though it may sound rude, it is true. It has nothing to do with Delhites or north Indians. It has to do with the goons, thugs, criminals, who are on hunt 24X7 in Delhi and NCR. Definitely not safe for women. I have driven in Delhi too. And you cant survive if you're not rude (in general). And to add to it, every one has a VIP connection!!

While I agree I am just reminded of a comment of a colleague hailing from the South. He saw the chaos that was Delhi roads and commented that this was 'Partition Mentality'. A lot of this lawlessness and I care two hoots comes from the period when it was every person for him/self and survivor of the fittest. This has permeated our mindset in every walk of life.

[BoneCollector]

Its a really state of affairs happening,not only in Delhi but also in other parts of country.The circumstances and your reaction were what most of the people would have done.Glad that all is well with you,loss of phone is nothing compared to bodily harm.
Like many people have suggested,i'll also suggest to go for a Pepper spray can.I had purchased it in 2004 when i was in Delhi and had also given it to female friends/relatives in Delhi.A can had cost me about Rs.400/-.I saw the same product available at the shop in Karol Bagh Metro station complex near the stairs last year,its even available online.Its a very effective product as one of the cans was used by my friend on someone who tried to harass her.
These days one cannot judge by age of a person how dangerous he can be.A couple of days back,there was an abortive attempt to snatch a bag containing nearly 15 lakhs in cash from someone in a bank here and the snatcher was apprehended,his age 15yrs.He was carrying a country made gun.

[selfdrive]

Sugeeta, with the typical Indian mentality I am glad that you got away with only the loss of a mobile. I think you had pointed out on some otehr thread an incident where a goon filled XUV was braking after hitting your Fiesta's bumper, so I initially thought you created a thread for that.

At the same time, your presence of mind certainly saved you from any further loss/ harm. This probably brings my attention to having another (even basic) prepaid mobile stashed away for such emergencies. So that it is possible to call the cops if your main mobile is stolen/ out of battery/ range/ whatever. A back up mobile seems to be the need of the day in cars too.

Originally Posted by Pallavi

The people out there will not come to anyone's rescue, neither the attackers nor the victims. So unless this fellow has a huge gang with him, it will stun him even for a few secs, giving you the time to move away from that place.

Not in the kind of traffic that Sugeeta was in. In fact I think it could be worse as they may gang up and assault the car. If I remember correctly, a woman in Mumbai was assaulted by an offduty drunk cop sometime ago. So what is to be expected from these petty goons?

Originally Posted by Pallavi

Then my watchman's wife came out hearing the commotion and started beating him with a broom. He took off.

Awesome. some guts these people have. Sometimes, I think it is the lack of will to fight that puts us in such helpless situations. I am not saying we pick up a broom and fight. But recently I had an argument with a low life in my neighbourhood (he was banging on a dholak at 5am on Saturday morning) and chose to walk away when he charged at me. I remember something I read somewhere: 'In comparison to self interest, ego/ self respect is in the back seat'. It is actually a literal translation from a Marathi adage I read, if anyone thinks this doesnt make sense, do PM me!

Originally Posted by sgiitk

While I agree I am just reminded of a comment of a colleague hailing from the South. He saw the chaos that was Delhi roads and commented that this was 'Partition Mentality'. A lot of this lawlessness and I care two hoots comes from the period when it was every person for him/self and survivor of the fittest. This has permeated our mindset in every walk of life.

Permeation is the key word (not sure if it a grammatically correct way to put it!) as I doubt if any of the morons who indulge in such activities were actually around or understand the pains of partition. This seems to be a more unfortunate way of earning money at any costs. Comparing their own activities with other bigger scams/ looting and justifying such thefts and assaults as a lesser evil. If they can get away, I will get away too

In this case, it seems a permeation of crime from the top echelons to these low lives. For some reason, any and every low life that I have had an argument with recently seems to assume that just because I have a car, I either lucked it out or inherited my fortune or am plain corrupt. I have nothing against these people but I dont fall in any of these categories. I actually find it offensive that someone would doubt another's success is due to their hardwork and education. But these people gladly put all of us 'gaadiwalas' in the same bracket. So how long before they think that we earned our money the wrong way, so they are only Robinhooding it out of us?

[Sugeeta]

Dear All, many thanks for your concern and valuable suggestions. It is indeed very touching to note that there are many more friends in comparison to a few negative elements. I am blessed.

I am trying to accept the situation - that yes, it can happen to me. No matter how hard we try to be prepared for such incidents, they seem to take us by surprise (or is it shock?).

Apparently, this stretch of road is becoming very susceptible to such incidents.

Am devoting some time to see how much information has been lost wrt official material. Hope to reconstruct most of it.

The SIM has been blocked, but the phone remains untraceable at present.

[RS_DEL]

Originally Posted by Sugeeta

Was trying to locate a thread on the matter, and came across many. But I also wanted to warn lone women drivers to not only avoid lonely stretches, but also to remain alert in the middle of traffic jams.

t would like to take up the incident with the cops, sans the harassment.

I take full responsibility for having panicked, but if I am a lone commuter, it does not mean that I am a sitting target for being robbed.

Facts:

[] You were targeted because you are a lady and were alone.

[] You exhibited tremendous presence of mind. Compliment yourself for that. Fear is not an unnatural response in such a scenario.

Cops - take it up with them. This maybe a random crime against any motorist. Chances are however they are singling out ladies, as men not all - but a lot of us for sure, have this habit of stepping out and slugging it out. Such gangs are wary of outright confrontations and fist fests. They are more inclined towards using shock fear and collecting whatever they can and making a quick exit.

Once again your quick thinking DID help you. Next time DO NOT repeat DO NOT hesitate in calling the cops. Understand they, the coppers, know when dealing with educated people who are willing to go the whole hog they can not be seen as accomplices in such nonsense. They will protect you at that time - which is MOST IMPORTANT, especially if the complaint is from a lady in distress.

[sirius1845]

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[sumathindra]

Sugeeta, this reminds me of an incident that happened to me some time back here in the garden city Bangalore! I reported it here on the forum.

I was at a signal when a guy came out of nowhere and with a brick in hand started to pound the rear windshield and subsequently the rear windows. My first reaction was to get out of the car and trash the guy black and blue however after reading multiple street experiences on TBHP I stayed inside the car waiting for the signal to turn green. I turned the car parked it and went behind the goon with the traffic cop at the signal. Unfortunately the goon got away I think people are inventing ways of making a quick buck, shame on them.

Good nothing happened to you, hence forth drive with all the windows rolledup and take care.

[ankan.m.blr]

Very unfortunate incident. Thank god you are alright. Along with all the suggestions mentioned in previous posts, may I also suggest to keep a police station number in your speeddial. Whenever u see the first sign of trouble, grab the phone & dial. Much less chance of phone getting stolen too.

[planet_rocker]

sorry to hear about this Sugeeta :(

Originally Posted by shuvc

Very unnerving indeed.

A bhpian experienced a phone-snatching attempt in Calcutta. ...

yes! this happened to xetaGLGrocks / Sabya in Kolkata, while he was returning from office.

Take care and drive safe.

it will be a good idea to keep your phone and hand bag away from reach. keeping a pepper spray handy is a good idea.

[StarrySky]

I'm sure that the moment you go to the local police station and register a complaint, the police will know who did this. But, whether they arrest them or not is a totally different matter altogether. It's quite possible that by the time you register the complaint, the "cut" from your phone's sale would've reached the police station. Otherwise, you need some high-level contacts in police/politics.

[Naturalist]

More than a pepper spray, I think honking loud and long is more important during such times. This can alert other vehicles nearby and the thugs would be aware that this is not good for them to do anything harmful.

[libranof1987]

Sugeeta, terrible thing to deal with I must say. But, I commend the way you reacted. Things would have actually gotten much worse had you truly panicked.

There ain't much humanity left on the streets these days; these things happen in impunity all over India.

Taking a very realistic view of such situations; luckily, most such incidents are mostly about money/possessions. And money/possessions aren't even remotely as important at health/safety.

So, please think of your personal safety while dealing with such situations.

[nitinbose]

I'd seen in a documentary some years ago where westerners keep life sized dolls (light weight though) of people in the car seats, so that from a distance it'd look like real people. This is a criminal deterrant. You could try this as well.

This is not a joke.