Three Unidentified Men Flee After Choking Victim Near Turiabeda
Key Points:
- Woman strangled and robbed of gold chain, earrings in Turiabeda locality
- Victim’s son pegs stolen jewelry’s value at nearly four lakh rupees
- Police launch probe, scan CCTV footage to trace attackers
JAMSHEDPUR – A woman was violently robbed of her gold ornaments on Thursday night in the Turiabeda locality, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Jamshedpur MGM police station. Three unidentified assailants took advantage of a deserted stretch to carry out the attack, leaving the victim injured and shaken.
According to residents, the woman, identified as Manju Devi, was returning home around 9:30 pm after collecting medicines from Ramnagar. A man had reportedly been trailing her for some distance, while two accomplices lay in wait further along her route. Investigators believe the man following her alerted his associates by phone once he spotted the gold chain around her neck.
The trio closed in on Manju Devi roughly 500 metres from her residence, exploiting the darkness of the unlit stretch. One of the attackers pressed his hand against her throat to prevent her from crying out, while another wrenched the gold chain and earrings from her. The assault came to an abrupt halt only when the headlight beam of a passing motorcycle illuminated the spot, prompting the assailants to flee.
Despite her injuries, Manju Devi managed to alert her family soon after the incident. Her son, Shankar Prasad, said the value of the looted jewellery was close to four lakh rupees. He added that the pressure applied to his mother’s throat during the struggle had caused bleeding from her mouth, following which she was rushed to a nearby clinic for treatment.
MGM police reached the spot after being informed and began questioning nearby residents as part of their investigation. Officers are also reviewing footage from CCTV cameras installed in the vicinity in an effort to identify the culprits.
Meanwhile, the incident has triggered considerable anger among local residents. Slum dwellers in the area said the absence of street lighting plunges the neighbourhood into darkness soon after sunset, a gap that criminals have been quick to exploit. Residents further alleged that police patrolling in the locality remains sparse. In addition, they claimed that a nearby open ground has increasingly become a gathering spot for drug users, emboldening anti-social elements operating in the area.
Locals have demanded that the district administration step up regular police patrols, install street lighting, and take strict action against anti-social elements. Similar patterns have surfaced before in the wider Telco and neighbouring belts, where residents have raised comparable concerns about street lighting and after-dark security. The MGM police confirmed that the investigation into Thursday’s robbery remains ongoing, with efforts focused on identifying the three assailants through witness accounts and camera footage from the Bhuiyandih and adjoining stretches. Officials also pointed to earlier cases such as the 2021 Mango Road jewellery loot and a 2023 chain-snatching near Sonari, both of which similarly involved after-dark attacks on lone pedestrians in poorly lit lanes.
