E-Paper
3 Chandigarh youths to spend 7 years in jail for snatching phone
The court of Jaibir Singh, additional sessions judge, also imposed a fine of ₹25,000 on each of the convicts — Dhanush, 19, from Dhanas, Chandigarh, and Riyaz Khan and Ghanshyam, both 20, from Bapu Dham Colony
A 19-year-old youth and his two aides, aged 20, have been awarded a seven-year jail sentence for snatching the mobile phone of a Kashmiri cloth seller in January this year.
The court of Jaibir Singh, additional sessions judge, also imposed a fine of ₹25,000 on each of the convicts — Dhanush, 19, from Dhanas, and Riyaz Khan and Ghanshyam, both 20, from Bapu Dham Colony.
The snatching victim, Tahir Rasool Tali, 24, hails from Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir, and is currently living in Manimajra.
Tahir, who sells clothes on his bicycle, told the police that in the evening of January 10, he was headed from Transport light point in Sector 26 to Railway Station light point.
On the way, three youths waylaid him. While two of them restrained him, the third snatched his mobile phone, whose cover also contained his voter card and Aadhaar card.
On the basis of his complaint, a case under Sections 341, 379-A and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered at the Sector 26 police station.
Following a probe, police arrested Dhanush, Riyaz Khan and Ghanshyam for the crime from near Kabir Ashram, Bapu Dham Colony, and recovered the snatched mobile phone from Riyaz’s pocket.
During trial, the defence counsel argued that there were contradictions in the statements of Tahir and the investigating officers.
To this, the court said, “The contradictions in the statements...may be due to defective investigation, but by now, it is a very well-settled law that the accused cannot take benefit of defective investigation.”
The court order read, “When the complainant has given a very natural version about the (crime’s) occurrence...as well as arrest of the accused and recovery of mobile phone from them, the involvement of the accused in the occurrence is established beyond doubt. None of the accused has levelled any ill-will against the complainant or any of the police officials.”
“This court feels no hitch to hold that from the evidence of the prosecution, the crime is established beyond doubt,” it added. Thus, the court convicted the three accused under Sections 379-A (snatching) read with Section 34 (acts done in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC.
