4 years jail for 2 men who robbed Rs400 from driver 14 yrs ago

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14 years after they robbed an auto rickshaw driver of Rs 400, two men have been jailed for four years and asked to pay Rs 10,000 each by a court here.
Additional Sessions Judge Hemani Malhotra held Sumit(33) and Hem Raj(37), both Delhi residents, guilty of offence of robbery under section 392 read with section 34 (common intention) of the IPC.
The court also directed them to pay Rs 10,000 each to the victim driver Vijay, whom they had robbed while he was ferrying them to Burari here on the night of September 11, 2001.
"In view of the fact that the convicts robbed the victim Vijay an innocent TSR driver, who was ferrying them to their destination in the dead of the night, I am of the opinion that ends of justice shall be met with in case convicts Sumit and Hem Raj are sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 4 years with compensation of 10,000 each to be paid to the victim," the judge said.

The court, while convicting them, relied on the testimony of the victim and the fact that he identified them in court.
It also noted that the victim had appeared for statement in court 10 years after incident, hence minor discrepancies were natural.

"So far as the apprehension and identification of the accused Sumit and Hem Raj is concerned, complainant did not falter even once," the court said.
Their third accomplice, who was found to be a juvenile, was arrested but was sent for trial before a juvenile justice board. He had helped in getting Sumit and Hem Raj arrested, the police said.

According to prosecution, on the intervening night of September 11 and 12, 2001, the accused and the juvenile hired the autorickshaw from ITO to Burari here.
While on the way, all the three persons threatened auto driver Vijay and robbed him of Rs 400 and his vehicle permit papers, it said.
As the police station was nearby, the policemen reached the spot after hearing the screams of the auto driver, it said, adding that the juvenile was apprehended immediately while the other two fled,
Two days later Sumit and Hem Raj were arrested for the offences of robbery.
During the trial, the accused had pleaded not guilty and claimed they were falsely implicated.