3 min readChandigarhMar 3, 2026 08:44 AM IST
The district court of Chandigarh has sentenced three young men to 10 years of imprisonment for robbing a pedestrian of Rs 600, his Aadhaar card and a mobile phone in Mauli Jagran area of the city in 2020.
The court also imposed fines of Rs 15,000 each on two of the convicts and Rs 10,000 on the third.
The order was pronounced by Additional District and Sessions Judge Sonika, who convicted Rajinder, alias Dhani (24), Shubham, alias Bambo (22), and Kashim, alias Machhi (18) under sections 395 (dacoity) and 397 (robbery or dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) of the IPC. Rajinder and Kashim were also convicted under Section 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property).
According to the prosecution, the incident happened on the evening of January 25, 2020. Complainant Pankaj told the police that he was travelling on foot towards Mauli Jagran after getting down from an auto near Chandigarh Railway Station when five youths intercepted him near a Shiv Mandir around 8 pm. One of them allegedly placed a knife on his abdomen while another pointed a pistol at his back and threatened to shoot if he raised the alarm. The assailants then robbed him of his purse containing Rs 600, his Aadhaar card and an MI mobile phone before fleeing.
On Pankaj’s complaint, an FIR was registered at Mauli Jagran police station. During investigation, the police recovered the complainant’s black purse from Rajinder, which the complainant identified as his own. The purse contained Rs 200 at the time of recovery, which was seized along with it. Investigators also recovered the snatched mobile phone and a toy pistol allegedly used in the crime from Shubham’s possession.
During trial, the defence counsel argued that the accused had been falsely implicated and pointed to alleged contradictions in the statements of prosecution witnesses. They also contended that recoveries were planted and that the investigation was flawed because no independent witness was joined by the investigating officer.
Rejecting these submissions, the court held that there is no legal requirement that testimony must be discarded merely because it lacks independent corroboration. It observed that the prosecution had established a consistent chain linking the accused to the crime and that the defence had failed to provide any plausible reason for false implication. The court also noted that the accused neither took a plea of alibi nor explained their whereabouts at the relevant time.
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On discrepancies highlighted by the defence, the court said minor contradictions in witness statements could arise due to passage of time between the incident and deposition in court, and such inconsistencies were peripheral rather than affecting the core of the prosecution’s case.
Holding that no benefit of the doubt could be extended on that basis, the court convicted all three accused.
