Couple says they will return but choose a 'safer' hotel
Couple says they will return but choose a 'safer' hotel
It was 6.30 am on August 15. At Crown Continental Hotel, Karol Bagh, a church pastor from Dimapur, Nagaland,
CP Sharma, 45, and his wife Ghanmaya, 40, were just waking up in Room No 105. The two had been invited to be chief guests at the Independence Day function at Mount Carmel School, Anand Niketan.
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A hotel attendant had arrived with their bed tea.
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The tea was served and they started sipping it. Suddenly, the world around them started spinning and they felt dizzy. As the two fell unconscious, the attendant opened their luggage and shifted through it for valuables. "We had to leave the hotel early and called room service for tea. After drinking the tea, we started feeling dizzy. I could feel I was collapsing. Everything became hazy and through the cloud I saw the boy who had got us the tea opening our luggage. We saw everything but were too weak to stop him or shout for help. I do not remember when we fainted and opened my eyes only in the hospital," said Gyanmaya.
At around 9 am, the driver designated by the school to pick the couple up arrived at the hotel.
"Our driver went to get them and knocked at their door but there was no response. After waiting for them for a long time and knocking repeatedly when there was no response, he called us. We broke open the door with the help of the hotel staff and saw the couple lying unconscious on the floor," said Leena Adhikari, a relative of the victim and an organiser of the event.
At around 10.30 am, the two were rushed to the nearby Jeewan Mala Hospital. While CP Sharma was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), his wife was taken to the general ward. Doctors attending to the two said they had been brought in at the nick of time.u00a0 Dr Amit, who was on duty at the ICU and was in charge of the patient, said, "They were brought to the hospital on time otherwise their condition could have deteriorated and the case could have become serious. The two were drugged and their heart rate had dropped critically. They will take some time to recover."u00a0
The two were discharged on Sunday morning.
The police said the accused had made away with Rs 7,000 cash, gold ornaments and an expensive mobile phone. "We have registered a case and are investigating the matter. The accused will be caught very soon," said a senior police official, wishing anonymity.u00a0
Meanwhile, the two don't blame the city for what has happened to them. Recuperating at their relative's house at Chanakyapuri, the Sharmas said they wouldn't mind returning to Delhi. "We will come back. Why blame the city? Thugs exist everywhere. But the next time, we will be careful about choosing the hotel," said Gyanmaya.u00a0