A picture paints a thousand words. But for Dr Igor Polikha, Ukraine's ambassador to India, the thousands of pictures in his iPhone can now be summed up in just one word: gone.
Indian media reported on Friday that the diplomat's smartphone was snatched while he was clicking the Red Fort.
The incident took place around 9am on Wednesday, when the diplomat, a photography enthusiast, had left his official car and driver in a parking lot and walked alone towards the Red Fort.
In a statement given to investigators, it emerged that the envoy took out his iPhone while standing on a road to take a good shot of the fort, so-called because it is made of red stone and marble.
The historic palace, located in central Delhi, was the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal dynasty for nearly 200 years.
While clicking away, an unidentified man dashed towards him, snatched his phone and ran away.
The incident happened in a flash, that the ambassador couldn’t even think of chasing him.
Police later took details of the thief from the description the envoy had given.
“A case in this connection has been registered at Kotwali police station and we are working hard to retrieve his phone. We have some strong clues about the snatcher and are zeroing in on him. We will crack the case soon,” said Jatin Narwal, Deputy Commissioner of Police in Delhi (north).
The stolen iPhone was switched off immediately after grabbing incident, Indian media reported.
The ambassador told police that the phone contained mostly personal data and information.
“The ambassador said he must have used his iPhone to take photos of thousands of places and people in Delhi, but this was the first time he found himself in such a situation. We hope to help him retrieve his phone at the earliest,” a senior investigator was quoted by Indian media as saying.
