Stabbed thrice, 54-year-old Punjab woman fights off intruder posing as delivery agent

MOHALI: A 54-year-old woman in Punjab’s Mohali fought off an armed intruder who had allegedly barged into her home on the pretext of delivering a parcel. Stabbed thrice, Sushma Sharma kept grappling with the intruder, grabbed him by the neck and hurled him down. Dazed and bruised, the attacker fled but was caught Thursday as he had dropped his mobile phone during the scuffle.The intruder also had what looked like a gun but, with her daughter-in-law and seven-year-old grandson to protect, backing down was not an option, said Sushma.

The robber arrived at the house Tuesday, posing as a delivery agent. Sushma’s unsuspecting grandson opened the gate, allowing the man to walk in.

As soon as he stepped inside, he brandished a “pistol-like weapon” in one hand and a knife in the other, said Sushma, a widow. “Without thinking twice, I caught hold of him,” she recounted from her hospital bed.What followed was a fierce, hand-to-hand fight. She grabbed the attacker’s weapon-hand with one hand and clutched his neck with the other. Screaming for help, she went toe to toe, refusing to let him overpower her. Sushma’s resistance unnerved the attacker, who broke free and scampered out, leaving behind his helmet and mobile phone.