3 Panchkula residents convicted of snatching, awarded 5-year rigorous imprisonment

Chandigarh, July 13

The court of Additional Sessions Judge Jagdeep Sood sentenced three persons to five years of rigorous imprisonment in a case of snatching. A fine of Rs 25,000 has also been imposed on each convict.

The convicts, Bajrangi, Nishant and Dharminder, all residents of Panchkula, were booked under Section 379-A of the Indian Penal Code on a complaint of Amar Dev, who worked at an electronics shop at the Sector 17 bus stand in Chandigarh.

The complainant had stated that he had visited Mani Majra for some work on January 16 this year. When he reached the bus stand to catch a bus, two youths came on a motorcycle. One of them alighted from the bike and snatched his mobile phone and tried to flee. However, the complainant caught hold of the youth and raised the alarm.

Amar Dev said as people started gathering, the other person waiting on the bike sped away.

During interrogation, the youth, who was later identified as Bajrangi, said he, along with co-accused Dharminder and Nishant, snatched a mobile phone from the complainant. The trio was arrested and produced in court.

The court later framed charges against the three accused, but they pleaded not guilty.

After hearing the arguments of both the defence counsel and the public prosecutor, the court observed that the snatched phone was recovered from Bajrangi, one of the accused, at the spot. A bluetooth earphone belonging to the complainant was recovered from the possession of Dharminder the next day and the motorcycle used in the crime was recovered from Nishant.

The court observed that in view of this, the prosecution was able to prove the charges against the accused. Accordingly, they were held guilty and convicted under Section 379-A of the IPC and sentenced to undergo five years of rigorous imprisonment, the court observed.