An unidentified man attacked freelance journalist and Scroll.in contributor Aparna Kalra at a public park in Delhi’s Ashok Vihar locality on Wednesday evening, reported Hindustan Times. The 45-year-old was admitted to Fortis Hospital with multiple brain injuries.

Kalra managed to give the police a statement when she gained consciousness for a few minutes on Wednesday night. She was able to communicate sporadically on Thursday but was only able to tell the police that she had been attacked. The police told Hindustan Times that they have registered an attempt to murder case against unknown people, but were clueless about the identity and motive of the assailant.

Officers had found Kalra unconscious in the park, bleeding from her head and nose. “We have no eyewitnesses to this attack. We were informed about a woman lying unconscious in the park by a visitor. But the caller had not witnessed the attack,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-West) Milind Dumbre told Hindustan Times.

The assault took place around 6.30 pm on Wednesday when Kalra had gone for her regular walk at Picnic Hut park. “At 7.30 pm, her sister received a call from the police saying Kalra was admitted to Deep Chand Hospital with brain injuries,” her uncle HC Bhatia told the daily. She was later shifted to Fortis, where doctors said some parts of her skull were missing. “She is in critical condition as she has received multiple injuries to her brain nerves,” her uncle said.

Bhatia added that her family had no idea why she was attacked. “We are not aware of her enmity with anyone,” he told Hindustan Times, adding that the family had initially suspected that the assailant had tried to snatch her mobile phone. “But later, we checked to find that she had left her phone at home. She was not carrying any valuables either,” he said.

The park is usually abuzz with people out on their morning or evening walks. The police said at least four fatal attacks had been reported from such public places in north and northwest Delhi in the past two years.

The journalist lives with her family in Ashok Vihar Phase III. Kalra worked with mainstream newspapers before becoming a freelancer. You can read her articles for Scroll.in here.