Bhubaneswar: Displaying remarkable courage even as her husband battles cancer in the ICU of AIIMS Bhubaneswar, a woman from Balangir district overpowered a chain‑snatcher outside the hospital on Tuesday morning.Around 6.40 am, the woman in her 40s, preferring anonymity, was walking towards a nearby tea stall when two men on a motorcycle slowed down near her. The pillion rider suddenly snatched her gold chain. She resisted fiercely and was shoved to the ground, sustaining bruises on her hands and legs. Undeterred, she sprang up, grabbed the pillion’s shirt collar, and pulled him off the bike despite the rider’s attempt to speed away.Passers-by rushed to her aid and prevented the snatcher from escaping, though the rider managed to flee with the chain. Locals thrashed the suspect and recovered a firearm from him before police arrived and took him into custody. “We have detained the accused, Islam Khan from Ranapur of Nayagarh district and are interrogating him. Efforts are on to trace his associate and verify their criminal antecedents. We are also probing the source of the firearm and examining CCTV footage from the area,” said an officer of Khandagiri police station.The woman, hailed for her bravery, urged police to recover her stolen chain weighing about 14 gms. “I never imagined facing such an ordeal. Already burdened with my husband’s illness, I chased the snatcher for nearly 200 metres before pulling him down. I hope police recover my chain,” she said, adding that the police vigilance near AIIMS should improve.She also warned of the vulnerability of attendants and patients during early hours. “Traffic is thin in the morning, and snatchers seem to target people at this time. Police patrolling must increase,” she stressed.As her act of defiance drew admiration, locals and hospital visitors too called for tighter security in and around medical facilities.“The AIIMS periphery has turned into a hub of anti‑socials. In the evening, drunkards create nuisance. Khandagiri police have failed to instill a sense of safety despite an outpost inside the hospital,” a resident said.