[LDJ]

Sugeeta,

Empathize with you on your misfortune. Such a shocking incident! Glad you are also willing to share it with others for their awareness/benefit.

A similar incident happened with us also. But lucky we escaped without any harm. My hubby was driving the car and this guy comes up at a signal in a bike and starts banging on the driver side door and tries to open it and shouting at the same time. My hubby just lowered the window just about a cm or so, so that he can hear what he was saying and this guy immediately started to punch the glass threatening to lower the glass completely. I was sitting inside with my 6month baby and started panicking. My hubby motioned for the guy to follow him and stopped the car next to the traffic cop who was about 50mts away. The guy just fled!


Couple of points:
1. My hubby has this flick knife inside the secret compartment under the steering (in Fiesta) for such emergencies. As someone pointed out this could help in your situation where someone is deliberately putting their hands inside the car.
2. Have a pepper spray handy for incidents outside the car.
3. Never roll down your windows to ANYONE!
4. Always use central locking. I urge it immediately after getting inside the car.
5. Keep you valuable stuff safe. Like laptops & mobile safe in their bags and between the wedge inbetween your front & backseat.


Hope this helps someone.

PS. If someone bangs from outside its always appears to be as if the car is taking quite a pounding (when you are sitting inside). I have observed it when some idiots crossing the car in signals tap on the boot and we hear it inside as if someone has banged it.

[arrowaby]

I really feel bad for You. I can understand How scared You must have got Then. Its really appalling. Just yesterday night i was talking to a friend of mine who Just landed up a job in Delhi three months back. Was telling her to Take Care and be safe there and today I read This! You should surely file an FIR. Give the police details about your phone and Its IMEI number. You'll get it on your phone box. Who knows tomorrow if the thug is caught his loot might also be there with him. PS: My friend is already planning to quit Delhi and Come back to Pune or Mumbai.

[amolathalye]

Hi Sugeeta ,

Firstly you have done the best thing by writing about it here , it will help thousands others to be alert and take action if required.

The incident is very scary indeed , i can well imagine how difficult it must have been for a you.

I feel If it's not possible to drive away safely then the best way is to get out of the car instantly with valuables and go away from it. It will do following things
1) all other cars around will understand that there is something wrong and they may stop honking and pushing you around , you may also get some help
2) The culprits may not be able to handle you getting out of the car
3) keep a pepper spray handy with you , use it whenever required
4) don't worry about car and belongings much but take max. care of yourself

Do you think Police are not aware of such things happening around us ? they have their own problems and sorting such petty issues is not on their priority otherwise this would have never happened in first place.

I know its not easy to say all this and much difficult to actually execute but well keep this in mind and try to stay calm , all the best

I am happy to know that you are brave enough to drive in new delhi

regards
Amol

[elantracrdi05]

Sugeeta, excellent reflex in ensuring you only opened the windows a couple of inches. I have had many a harrowing instance in Delhi / Haryana traffic. Hope you recover from the incident.

To update everyone on the MO adopted by various gangs:

1. A lady will ask for a lift looking like a person in distress. When you stop, a Bolero / large MUV with 4-5 goons will appear and car-jack you

2. I have heard of instances on Gurgaon-Faridabad highway where a person in Cop clothes will stop and ask for a lift. The same as above would happen next. This is probably the scariest since 99% of us would stop if a Cop asks us to. This stretch is well known for car jacking post nightfall.

3. Happened to a friend of mine - On the Delhi-GT Karnal bypass near Azadpur, a guy will come and knock on your door and say your fuel line is leaking and he 'happens to be a mechanic'. What has actually transpired is that at a traffic signal, he has done the same and is expecting to be paid for repairing it.

4. One guy stops to ask you for directions and while you are doing so, another runs off with your laptop / other valuables. This happened to my boss at the busiest road in CP.

Morale:

While I understand genuine people may be in distress, please look out for yourselves before wondering how you can help others. I know its not the most conscientious way of living, it is safer especially after dark.

In the event of being accosted by multiple strangers, I have instructed my wife to actually cause a minor accident so that at least the local junta gathers around. Which works fine by me since it gives her time to call the cops / me / nearest friend.

Hope this comment doesn't ruffle any feathers - I just want to remain as safe as possible, if not for me then for my family.

Drive safe!

[ksgehlot]

Sad to hear about your unfortunate event , but the important thing is that you are safe and nothing happened to you .

I think for your phone you should file a FIR and get your phone recovered. It doesn't even matter if he has changed the SIM , they can still track it down by the IMEI no . I know cause that's how my dad got his phone back when it was stolen .

[himanshugoswami]

This is the reason why I have been a strong advocate of having a more lenient gun control system in India. In such a situation if you pull out a .357 magnum, see how tehse thugs would run away.

To those whosay that relaxing gun control would allow miscreants to access guns easily as well, I would disagree, since they have firearms any which way. But believe you me, NO ONE wants to be the reciepient of a gun shot woulnd, so 9 times out of 10, the very sight of a firearm will disperse the mob. Of course, one needs confidence in body language as well.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

This is the reason why I have been a strong advocate of having a more lenient gun control system in India. .....

NO ONE wants to be the reciepient of a gun shot woulnd, so 9 times out of 10, the very sight of a firearm will disperse the mob. Of course, one needs confidence in body language as well.

How about carrying a dummy. I am told many are very realistic.

[greatpower]

Sugeeta, you have shown remarkable presence of mind.

It seems like the bus driver was also in co-conspirator in this event. The main culprit shot off with your Note in the bus and bus sped off grazing your car. Seems pre-planned.

[W.A.G.7]

Sorry to hear about the incident, but equally glad to know that you came out of it without any harm. The security in the whole country is already going from bad to worse, so there's no point in talking about it. The phone is a lost cause now, very very rare chance that you will be able to recover it. But the phone's not important, what matters is that you came out of it without any physical harm.

I was going to say this before, but you yourself said it. The bus driver must be in cahoots with the thugs. You said earlier he was honking mad. And when the thug snatched the mobile and jumped in the bus, the bus just scraped your car and went away. Actually from his elevated position, he was able to view the entire incident as it happened in front of his eyes. Yet he didn't do anything and kept on honking to try and panic you. That means he has got some role to play in it.

In my car too, whenever the ignition is turned off, the doors unlock. Now I am thinking of getting the central locking changed to one that doesn't unlock the car on switching off the ignition.

[SirAlec]

Its really a serous issue! and Delhi is becoming weirder day by day. I remember a thread in which some guy was conned when he was lured to a expensive laptop on traffic light by two person on a bike.

I would suggest Ladies to keep some defense equipment like pepper spray etc in their bags.

[DevilsCry]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

Now I am thinking of getting the central locking changed to one that doesn't unlock the car on switching off the ignition.

Please don't. What if they remain locked in case of a fire or an accident? Remember the Vento fire incident! Better keep engine running and waste huge amount of fuel.

[Alias_6]

This is a sad reality which needs to be voiced out . But Judging by the number of reports coming in , we can be sure that there are many more which go unreported.
Only thing we can do Is to move on and make sure nothing similar happens to us in the future.

Sometimes a bold and aggressive outlook can keep us much safer from these small threats than a kind and vulnerable one.

[Raccoon]

^^^Lol, do neither! How much effort does it take to pull the door latch shut after turning off the engine? At least in mine, the central locking controlled door latches open with an audible noise. It immediately reminds me to manually pull the latch again.

I'd rather do it the manual way then let some numbskull tinker with the central locking or spend on a new one that does not unlock automatically (if such a one exists).

[dockap]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

How about carrying a dummy. I am told many are very realistic.

There is a saying if you carry a gun you should be ready to use it. I think its more dangerous to carry a dummy gun cause if the thieves outnumber you and try to attack when you show a dummy gun they may kill you thinking that the gun is real. If i had a gun and i saw someone pointing a gun at me i would shoot first without waiting to see if the persons gun was real or a dummy.

[Honda Monk]

Originally Posted by Sugeeta

I am narrating my personal experience. Something that happened with me last evening, at approx. 7.15 pm, on the way home from work.

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.

Dear Lady, its really sorry (no shocked) to hear such an incident in Delhi (NCR), where citizens are on ( law enforcers apathy) and there own to fight the crime in daily lives.
I must say that you follow a good practice by centrally locking the car and that you did best by not opening the door of your car.
I would say such incidents are the new tactics of petty criminals and thieves.
What a women or old citizen should do in such situation is to call police (I know police ain't of much help and is befriended with such criminals), this at least scare them for a moment.
It reminds me of south Africa where getting out of car in mid of road is inviting a problem for sure.
AT LEAST NCR IS STRICTLY NOT A PLACE TO HELP SOMEBODY ON ROAD (unless you see someone lying in blood).
Thanks to Shiela Dixit and police Delhi is a haven for criminals from adjoining state!