Crime to conviction in only 18 days for this robbery accused

New Delhi: Delhi Police has secured the conviction of a man accused of assaulting and robbing a woman within 18 days of the crime, with the chargesheet being filed in just five days and the trial court conducting day-to-day proceedings.

On the evening of April 18, when a 21-year-old woman was waiting near Prahladpur bus stand in the Shahbad Dairy area of northwest Delhi, a man had approached and physically assaulted her before forcibly snatching her iPhone 15 and fleeing the spot.

Hearing the victim’s cries for help, head constable Vikram, who was patrolling nearby, rushed to the spot and began chasing the accused along with the victim. The accused, identified as 22-year-old Pankaj, a resident of a JJ colony in Bawana, was apprehended within minutes near a colony’s gate. The robbed phone was found on him and seized.

Based on the complainant's statement, police registered a case under sections 309 (robbery) and 317 (stolen property) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Shahbad Dairy police station.

The probe was completed within 72 hours and the chargesheet was filed before the Rohini court within five days of the incident on April 23. “The chargesheet was filed in record time,” claimed DCP (outer north) Hareshwar V Swami. The trial court of judicial magistrate first class Bharti Beniwal then took cognisance of the chargesheet and started proceedings on a day-to-day basis.

The charges against the accused, who remained in custody throughout the trial proceedings, were framed on April 29, barely 11 days after the robbery. On May 6, the court completed the proceedings and convicted Pankaj.

Violent robbery and street crime cases generally continue to languish in courts for months, and often years — one of the key reasons why many victims eventually lose hope and stop pursuing them. The current case has emerged as one of the fastest convictions secured in a street robbery matter under the new criminal laws, police claimed.

According to police, the case was part of a special drive launched by the outer north district to fast-track street crime prosecutions in line with directions issued by Delhi Police commissioner Satish Golchha. "Eight street crime cases from different police stations in the district were shortlisted for expedited investigation and trial under the initiative,” the DCP said.

The court, while convicting the accused, also appreciated the prompt recovery of the stolen property and the manner in which evidence was collected during the investigation. The police team involved in the case is likely to be rewarded for the speedy investigation and prosecution.
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