Mobile phone snatcher gets five-year jail sentence in Ludhiana.

Ludhiana: A local court has sentenced a 34-year-old man to five years of rigorous imprisonment for snatching a mobile phone from a labourer at motorcycle-point last year.Sessions judge Harpreet Kaur Randhawa handed down the sentence to Dharminder Singh, of Paddi village, following a trial that centered on the reliability of police witnesses and the positive identification of the accused by the targeted labourer. The conviction stems from an incident on Sept 30, 2023.The complainant, Raju Kumar, a die fitter's helper, was walking toward a local fish market at about 9 pm while using his mobile phone when, as the prosecution evidence suggests, a motorcyclist approached him near the Guddu Lale Da office. The rider snatched the phone and fled the scene despite Raju's attempt to give him a chase. Following a private inquiry, Raju identified Dharminder Singh as the perpetrator and reported the matter to the Focal Point police.Police subsequently arrested Dharminder Singh and charged him under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) related to snatching and receiving stolen property dishonestly. During the trial, his defence counsel argued for an acquittal based on "false implication", noting that the prosecution failed to examine any independent witnesses from the public. The defence contended that the case relied too heavily on the testimony of official police witnesses.However, judge Randhawa dismissed these arguments, citing established legal precedents regarding the nature of evidence. "It is the quality of evidence which is to be considered rather than the quantity," the court held. "The statements of official witnesses cannot be discarded simply for the reason that they are official witnesses." The court found the evidence against Dharminder Singh "clear-cut", noting that the complainant had successfully identified him as the snatcher.