A man convicted of snatching a woman's earring at a traffic signal here has been sentenced to three years in jail by a Delhi court, which said that being a repeat offender he did not deserve leniency.
Additional Sessions Judge Manoj Jain dismissed the appeal of Faridabad resident Ravinder against a magisterial court's order which had convicted and sentenced him for the offences of theft and assault.
"I cannot be oblivious of the fact that he is having previous involvements as well. Such types of incidents are increasing every day.
"I could have shown some compassion to him had it been his first offence but his previous involvements some of which even resulted in conviction, dissuade me in showering any clemency," the judge said.
The judge, while upholding the trial court's order, relied on the testimonies of victim Reeta and her brothers, who were in a car at a traffic signal when suddenly Ravinder snatched her earring from the rear window in 2012.
As soon as Ravinder snatched the earring, brothers of Reeta, who began to bleed profusely, caught him and it was found that he had swallowed the ornament.
"Testimony of all the three witnesses clearly indicate that it was the appellant (Ravinder) who had snatched the earring of complainant Reeta when she was travelling in the car," the judge said.
The court also rejected the contentions of Ravinder's counsel regarding non-joining of public witnesses, saying though a "crowd had collected at the spot but it is also a harsh reality that public persons are normally reluctant in associating themselves with such matters".
According to prosecution, on June 8, 2012, Reeta was travelling in a car with her two brothers. When they stopped at a traffic signal near Pushp Vihar here, Ravinder attacked the victim and snatched her gold earring.
Reeta was rushed to AIIMS Trauma Centre for treatment and Ravinder was also subjected to X-ray examination which revealed that he had swallowed the ornament.
He was kept under observation at AIIMS and excreted the earrings after two days.
The court also rejected Ravinder's contention that he was falsely implicated, saying he could not give any explanation for the same. It also noted that Ravinder could not explain how pieces of stolen earring were found inside his body.
