5-yr jail to hotel waiter for stealing guest's cash, valuables

Additional Sessions Judge Pawan Kumar Jain held Punjab native Amrit Pal guilty of causing hurt to victim Sonu Lal by means of poison and stealing his jewelleries, cash, two mobile phones and several debit and credit cards from his hotel room after giving him poisonous tea.

The court said Pal deserved substantial punishment and not a token sentence or probation as he betrayed the faith of the victim, a customer of the hotel.

"Being the employee of the hotel, it was his (Pal) moral and legal duty to protect the life and property of the victim. He did not only commit the offence but also betrayed the victim's faith. Moreover, to commit the theft, the convict had not hesitated even in administering stupefying substance to him.

"This shows that convict had no concern with the safety of the victim and his only motive was to earn easy money by committing theft," the ASJ said, imposing a fine of Rs 75,000 on Pal.

The court said out of the amount, Rs 60,000 should be given to Sonu Lal as compensation as he had not only sustained monetary loss but also mental and physical suffering.

The court also directed police to seize Rs two lakh, kept in Pal's State Bank of India account at Patiala and return it to the victim with interest. (MORE)