While sentencing a man to seven years rigorous imprisonment for robbing a businessman at gunpoint, a Delhi court voiced concern over the “deteriorating” law and order situation in Delhi and said immediate steps should be taken for safety and security of citizens. Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau convicted Sunil Kumar, a resident of Pratap Nagar, of robbing Praveen Parashar with an attempt to kill or grievously hurt him with a pistol. The court, however, gave benefit of doubt to co-accused Sonu and Rajender Kumar and acquitted them in the case. Thirty-eight-year-old Sunil, who was on a scooter, stopped Praveen’s car and robbed him of his gold chain and Rs 21,000 and threatened him against reporting the matter to police. “The deteriorating law and order problem of the city is a matter of serious concern and immediate steps are required to be taken at all levels for ensuring security and safety of the citizens. Instances of young persons getting involved in criminal activities of robbing innocent persons by putting them under threat of death, are also on the rise,” the court said. “Trigger-friendly criminals unhesitatingly and indiscriminately use dangerous firearms on helpless victims who may or may not offer any resistance, thereby spreading terror in society and adversely affecting social order and the faith of people in the system,” the court said. It refused to take a lenient view, saying Sunil was involved in 17 other criminal cases and the manner in which the offence had been committed by him in broad daylight showed that he had no respect for the law and the legal process. “He has an impression that perhaps the legal system of this country is not competent enough to hold him back for his illegal activities. While committing the robbery in broad daylight, a person who publicly and openly declares himself to be the supremo of the area needs to know that it is not he, but the law, which is supreme and it is the rule of law which reigns and not him, as was declared by him to the victim. He is, therefore, not entitled to any leniency,” the judge said. The court awarded him jail term, saying there was a need to keep Sunil “out of circulation” and also clarified that this sentence will run consecutively with the punishment awarded to him in another criminal case. The court imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him. According to the prosecution, on September 8, 2012, Sunil and Sonu stopped Praveen’s car and robbed him of his gold chain and Rs 21,000 at gun-point. They told Praveen that they had been following him from his house and that he would be killed if he disclosed the incident to police, the prosecution told court. The accused had also checked Praveen’s briefcase, which was in the car, but could not find any valuables in it. Their third associate — Rajender — was accused of possessing the stolen property, i.e. Praveen’s gold chain.
