(Top): Ananta Chowdhury displays his knife wounds. (Bottom): Mitali Mitra recounts the snatching. Telegraph pictures

Mitali Mitra, 45, was attacked by a gang of five youths and robbed of her gold necklace in DG block of Salt Lake when she was out on her daily morning walk on Thursday.

Ananta Chowdhury, a 60-year-old cardiac patient, who came to Mitra’s rescue, was stabbed in the arms.

Several suspects have been detained. “A preliminary probe revealed that a local gang was involved in the crime,” said an officer of Bidhannagar (East) police station.

Salt Lake is a morning-walker’s haven, especially for the elderly. Mitra left home in AH block for her walk around 5.45am on Thursday.

“I was heading for the park in BH block, where we have a morning-walkers’ club. Almost at the end of DG block, a few yards from the park, five youths, all between 18 and 22 years old, suddenly surrounded me and dragged me behind a bush,” recalled Mitra.

While three youths stood guard on the road, knives in hand, the other two tried to snatch Mitra’s necklace and gold bangles. They threatened to stab her if she cried out.

“They snatched the necklace and were struggling with the bangles when I kicked one of the goons and cried out for help. The youths started to walk away,” said Mitra, who then started shouting for help.

Chowdhury, who had undergone an angioplasty in April, responded promptly to Mitra’s call for help.

“I recognised her because both of us are members of the same morning-walkers’ club. While the youths were walking past me, I caught hold of one of them,” said Chowdhury, a resident of BG block.

The goons then turned on Chowdhury and stabbed him repeatedly on his arms.

“When I could not bear the pain any more, I let go of the youth. They all ran away, pushing me to the ground,” Chowdhury added.

Other members of the morning-walkers’ club soon arrived on the spot and applied first-aid to Chowdhury and Mitra, who had suffered cuts and bruises, before taking them to Bidhannagar (East) police station.