System shutdown: Computer engineer gets 20-yr sentence

Nitin has been awarded a five-year imprisonment term in three cases, nine years in three others and six years for another three, public prosecutor Garish Bhatt said, adding that the sentences would not run concurrently. Nitin, a native of Surat, used to rob passengers travelling by the State Transport buses. He would befriend unsuspecting passengers and then would offer them tea laced with sedatives, to render them unconscious. Thereafter, he would decamp with their valuables and belongings, the police said.

He was arrested nearly 10 months ago from Rajkot Central Bus Depot when he was moving in a suspicious manner, said the police. Some mobile phones, sim cards, ATM cards and medicines used to mix in the tea were recovered from him.

Nitin had looted cash and other valuables worth over Rs 3 lakh from as many as 10 passengers before his arrest. He had not engaged any lawyer and fought his case on his own.