A woman employee was robbed inside an elevator at AIIMS Bhopal, exposing a terrifying breach of security at the premier hospital on Sunday.
The incident came to light on Monday after CCTV footage surfaced, sending shockwaves through the city.
The victim, Varsha Soni, an attendant posted in the gynaecology department, was alone in an elevator located behind the blood bank during duty hours. A young man wearing a mask entered the lift, casually striking up a conversation and asking which floor housed the ophthalmology department.
As the elevator reached the third floor, the man stepped out, turned back, and lunged at the woman. He attempted to snatch her gold pearl necklace and mangalsutra. Varsha resisted. She was pushed aside. The attacker fled toward the staircase, escaping with the mangalsutra, while the pearl necklace snapped and fell to the floor.
There was not a single security guard present in the elevator area.
After the attack, the woman reportedly sat crying near the lift, alone and shaken, until a guard on routine rounds noticed her and informed senior officials.
A written complaint has been submitted at Baghsewania police station, but no FIR has been registered.
Preliminary investigation suggests the accused fled through the IPD gate, exploiting reduced security on account of it being a Sunday. The security agency said that identification is difficult because the attacker concealed his face.
While petty thefts have been reported earlier on the AIIMS campus, this is the first recorded case of chain snatching targeting a woman inside an elevator, a space assumed to be monitored, controlled, and safe.
But this incident was not isolated. It is symptomatic.
Bhopal's streets and now its hospitals are witnessing the fallout of a quiet but consequential legal shift.
Under the new criminal framework, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), crimes like chain, purse, and mobile snatching have been reclassified.
Earlier, such crimes were listed under robbery, attracting 10 to 14 years of imprisonment. Today, they fall under "snatching", with a maximum punishment of just three years. Arrest is no longer mandatory. Bail is easy. In many cases, the accused walks out with a notice. The result is visible in numbers. In less than a year, cases have quadrupled. In 2024 - 39 cases, in 2025 more then 165 cases were registered.
Police data shows that every second street crime in Bhopal is now a snatching incident.
Robbery cases once demanded arrests, custodial interrogation, and strict court scrutiny. Snatching, now labeled a "non-heinous" offence, has tilted the balance decisively in favour of criminals. The fear of jail has faded. The fear of being caught appears to have diminished.
