By IANS,
New Delhi : Three train robbers were Wednesday awarded life imprisonment by a city court, which described the 2001 heist as “a cold-blooded incident (that) shakes the confidence of the public”.
Additional Sessions Judge D.K. Sharma awarded life imprisonment to Pawan, Surinder Singh and Aslam, all between the age of 21 and 25 years, and imposed a fine of Rs.2,500 each after holding them guilty of the robbery with an attempt to cause grievous hurt or death.
“Such incidents shake the confidence of public at large. People travel in a train considering it to be a safe mode of transport. When a person leaves his or her house for a journey, the members of the family wait for his safe return,” the judge said in his order.
“The dacoity took place in a train in which most of the passengers were going to holy shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi (in Jammu),” the court noted while terming the manner in which the offence was committed as “cold-blooded, premeditated and well-organised”.
The court also directed the authorities to ensure appropriate safety and security of a witness who was threatened by the accused during the trial.
According to the prosecution, the accused had committed the dacoity in UP Summer Special Train between Delhi and Panipat on the intervening night of Oct 11 and 12, 2001 and robbed the passengers of cash, jewellery and other items valued between Rs.300,000 and Rs.400,000.