Pickpocketed in New Delhi

I was in India with a group on a surgical mission in May 2019. We would catch a flight from New Delhi’s airport at 3 a.m., meanwhile we were dropped off at Connaught Place to shop and then to eat dinner at the Punjab Grill (www.punjabgrill.in), located across the street from lots of tourist shops and a big open area with stands and shops.

To reach the restaurant, we had to cross a road with a median strip. Five of us began crossing the street, weaving in between vehicles, and I dropped my guard. When we reached the median strip, I was cut off from my friends by a woman in a sari, who then motioned to other sari-clad women to crowd around me.

I stepped back into traffic and started yelling at them to get away. A man came to help, but by then one of the women had opened my neck pouch and helped herself to my dollars. By that point, my group was on the other side of the street.

I guess I was lucky, since I still had my passport, cards and phone.

There were no pockets in what I was wearing, so I was carrying my pouch, but I had it in front of me, outside my shirt. Yes, I knew better than that. Lesson learned!

MARILYN SANTIAGO
Port Angeles, WA