After robbing a shopkeeper of his mobile and over Rs 42,000 cash at gunpoint, two youths were sentenced to varying jail terms by a Delhi court on Sunday. Additional Sessions Judge Kamini lau awarded the jail term to Nangloi residents, Rohit Soni and Sanjay Kumar, for conspiring and committing robbery at gunpoint from Umesh Yadav’s shop in Pitampura.
The court awarded seven and five-year imprisonment to Soni and Kumar respectively. It also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each on them. The court also voiced concern over “deteriorating” law and order situation in Delhi and said that immediate steps should be taken for safety and security of citizens.
“The deteriorating law and order problem of the city is a matter of serious concern and immediate steps are required to be taken at all levels for ensuring security and safety of the citizens. Instances of young persons getting involved in criminal activities of robbing innocent persons by putting them under threat of death are also on the rise.
Trigger-friendly criminals unhesitatingly and indiscriminately use dangerous firearms on helpless victims who may or may not offer any resistance thereby spreading terror in society and adversely affecting social order and faith of people in the system,” the court said.
According to the prosecution, on the night of December 15, 2011, Soni and Kumar conspired and entered Yadav’s shop and robbed him. It said while committing robbery, Soni had used a pistol.
A case was registered at Subhash Place police station. later on, when the accused were arrested, Yadav’s Samsung Galaxy mobile phone was recovered from Sanjay’s house. During the trial, Soni and Kumar claimed that they were innocent and were falsely implicated in the case. The court noted that Soni and Kumar were involved in nine and eight other criminal cases which were of similar nature.
The judge said that the manner in which the offence has been committed coupled with their track record showed that both the convicts were “desperados” who had no respect for law and legal process of the country. They had an impression that the legal system was incompetent to hold them back for their illegal activities, the court said. It added that there was no previous animosity between the convicts and the victim and their intent was solely monetary gain.