Ludhiana: A local court has sentenced a man to five years of rigorous imprisonment for robbing a commuter after offering him a lift. The court of Additional Sessions Judge Jagdeep Sood also imposed a fine of Rs 26,000 on the convict; in default of payment, he must undergo sixteen days of imprisonment. On October 2, 2019, Sarabha Nagar police booked Ranjit Singh Sunna of Lamma Jatpura village under Sections 379-B and 411 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).According to the prosecution, the complainant, Mukul Jaiswal of Daad village, an electrical engineering student in Patiala, recorded a statement regarding the incident. On September 29, 2019, Jaiswal traveled to Delhi for a job interview. On October 1, 2019, at approximately 2 am, he deboarded a train at Ludhiana railway station. While waiting for an auto-rickshaw, a Swift car stopped near him. The driver inquired about his destination, and Jaiswal mentioned a mall on Ferozepur Road. Though initially hesitant to accept a lift from a stranger, Jaiswal relented after the driver identified himself as Ranjit Singh Sunna of Lamma Jatpura village, currently residing in Barewal. Believing his account, the complainant boarded the vehicle. As they neared the mall, the driver suddenly snatched Jaiswal’s mobile phone, leading to a scuffle. The accused punched Jaiswal’s face and attempted to forcibly seize his bag, eventually dragging the complainant alongside the moving car. After snatching Rs 2,700 from Jaiswal’s shirt pocket, the accused pushed him out of the vehicle. Passersby arranged an ambulance for Jaiswal, who sustained multiple facial and bodily injuries. He was treated at civil hospital before being referred to DMC Hospital and eventually discharged.Police arrested the accused on October 3, 2019, recovering the stolen mobile phone from his pocket and seizing the car. A chargesheet was subsequently filed following the investigation. During the trial, the accused pleaded false implication. The defence argued that the investigators failed to seize CCTV footage from the railway station or the complainant’s train ticket. However, the court, appreciating the evidence, noted that the victim successfully identified Ranjit Singh as the assailant. The court further observed that both the stolen phone and the vehicle were recovered from the convict’s possession. Prosecution witness Jagtar Singh, the car’s owner, testified that the accused had rented the vehicle on September 30, 2019. The court concluded that the snatching was sufficiently proven, ruling that the absence of CCTV footage or the physical railway ticket did not cast doubt on the prosecution’s case.
