Snatcher gets 5-year RI; Rs 10,000 fine

Ludhiana: A local court has sentenced a 26-year-old man to five years’ rigorous imprisonment for snatching a mobile phone, and imposed a Rs 10,000 fine. In default, he will serve three months’ additional RI.

Sessions Judge Harpreet Kaur Randhawa convicted Lovepreet Singh of Kular village, Jagraon, in a 2023 Sarabha Nagar case under IPC sections 379-B (snatching) and 411 (receiving stolen property).

According to the prosecution, complainant Dinesh Kumar, a store in-charge at a Mall Road showroom, was returning home on May 28, 2023. Around 10.30pm, after alighting from an auto near a mall on Ferozepur Road and heading towards Ashapuri Chowk, a motorcycle-borne man snatched his phone and fled.

Police arrested the accused on May 30 near Baddowal railway crossing after the complainant identified him; two mobile phones were recovered. The charge-sheet was filed after investigation.

The defence claimed false implication and lack of independent witnesses. The court held that the quality of evidence outweighs quantity, and that official witnesses’ testimony cannot be discarded solely on that ground. Relying on the complainant’s account and corroborating police evidence, the court found the charges proved beyond reasonable doubt.