Man sent to 7 yrs in jail for injuring woman in robbery bid

A Delhi court has sentenced a man to rigorous imprisonment for seven years for injuring a woman while trying to snatch her purse and gold chain here in 2010. Additional Sessions Judge Atul Kumar Garg also imposed a fine of Rs 3,000 on convict Rashid, a resident of Rampur in Uttar Pradesh, after holding him guilty for the offence of causing grievous hurt to the woman while trying to rob her under the IPC and under the provisions of the Arms Act. According to the police, 37-year-old Rashid had tried to snatch a gold chain and a bag from victim Komal Pehljani, who was working in the State Bank of India (SBI), on September 29, 2010, while she was coming to her house from office. Pehljani had said that while she was on her way to home from her office at Green Park here, two men on a motorcycle came in front of her and pillion rider Rashid snatched her bag and chain. Her bag fell down and as Rashid tried to lift it, she caught hold of him after which he took out his pistol and hit her on her head. The woman raised an alarm following which the police reached the spot and apprehended the accused. She also said the man, who was riding the motorcycle, had fled from the spot. The police told the court it recovered a pistol and two live cartridges from the possession of the accused. During the trial, Rashid denied the entire evidence and his counsel argued that his client was present at the spot at the time of the incident but the police had inadvertently arrested him assuming that he was the robber. The court, however, dismissed his contentions saying the statements of prosecution witnesses are "coherent and firm" and there is no reason to disbelieve their testimonies. "From the testimony of prosecution witnesses... prosecution is able to prove that it was accused (Rashid) who had robbed the lady and when she had resisted, then he had used the butt of the pistol. "Recovery of pistol from Rashid....Proved the case of the prosecution that it was the accused who had used this pistol while snatching the chain of the lady," it said.