The administration’s tall claims about tight policing suffered a punch on Friday when a middle-aged woman vigilance employee was assaulted and looted just metres away from the chief minister’s residence in a high-security zone.

According to police, Gauri Verma (43), an employee (reader) with the state vigilance investigation department, was walking to her office on Circular Road and had just passed a high court judge’s residence and the gate to the chief minister’s janata darbar around 10.30am, when the incident occurred.

The VVIP locality housing residences of high court judges and ministers is considered to be the best in terms of security with policemen posted and patrolling the area 24x7.

The woman had set out from her Police Colony residence in Anisabad on an autorickshaw that dropped her off a few hundred metres from the vigilance office.

“There is a high court judge’s residence opposite the back gate of the chief minister’s residence through which people enter during the weekly janata darbar. The vigilance office is situated two blocks from the judge’s residence. The woman was walking towards her office when she was attacked,” a police officer at Sachivalaya police station, preferring anonymity, told The Telegraph.

Verma told The Telegraph: “While walking down Circular Road, I felt someone following me at a close distance. As I turned to look, a man pulled at the gold chain around my neck. I resisted. He started punching my face. Suddenly another man appeared on the scene and tried to snatch my earrings. One of them hit me on the head with a heavy object. I collapsed. I got a kick on the face and my chain was snatched. By then, passers-by rushed to my help. The attackers me and fled along the stretch of the road and soon disappeared.”

The passers-by helped Verma stand up and alerted her office. Verma was rushed to Gardanibagh Hospital and was administered first-aid.

When contacted, Patna city superintendent of police Jayant Kant said investigations were on in the case.

“Three persons have been nabbed in this connection. The verification process of those arrested is on. The actual culprits will be nabbed by tonight,” the officer told The Telegraph.

“It is strange and shocking that this sort of an incident has taken place in such a security zone. Police will further lose people’s confidence after this,” Satish Kumar Singh, a state government employee, said.

Sources said the police’s image has already suffered a setback in recent chain-snatching episodes, which have seen no arrests.