Students spend night in jail before exams

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 3

Two BTech students, who were arrested for vandalising vehicles in Sectors 15, 21 and 22 in an inebriated condition, spent a night in Burail Jail on judicial remand before their final examinations, as a local court today put their bail application under consideration for tomorrow. One of the students is to appear for his examination on Monday and the other later in the week.

Both students, Akshit Jakhar, a resident of Panchkula, and Ekant Sahni, a native of Gurdaspur, are from well-off families. “My car was damaged by somebody and under the influence of liquor, we vandalised these cars,” Jakhar replied when the judge asked them: “Why were you involved in such an act?”

Harish Bhardwaj, counsel of the students, who were booked under Sections 380 (theft), 457 (house trespass),511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment), 427 (mischief causing damage) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC, opposed the stringent sections pressed against the students. He contended there was no intention of theft as it was more of a case of joyride in an inebriated condition. 

The police said the accused were caught on CCTV cameras as they entered the locality to damage the vehicles. The court has put the matter under consideration and will take a call on the accused’s bail plea tomorrow.  The cars of city Congress chief Pardeep Chhabra and Congress candidate for the MC poll Deipa Asdhir Dubey were among the vehicles vandalised by the duo.

Meanwhile, investigating officials told Chandigarh Tribune that Sahni belonged to the family of a retired bank manager and landlord in Punjab while Jakhar is the son of a property dealer.