Mohali, May 20 -- A Mohali sessions court has convicted a 35-year-old man in a mobile snatching case and sentenced him to five years of rigorous imprisonment (RI), observing that the victim's prompt complaint, detailed description of the motorcycle and recovery of the stolen phone within 24 hours left "no reason to disbelieve" the prosecution version. Additional sessions judge Atul Kasana convicted Vicky of Nabha Sahib village in Zirakpur, under Section 379-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for snatching a mobile phone from a woman near Bakarpur traffic lights on May 1, 2024. The court acquitted him under Section 411 IPC, ruling that a person convicted for snatching cannot be convicted for retaining the same stolen property. According to the prosecution, complainant Simranjeet Kaur, who worked at a call centre in Sector 82, Mohali, was returning home when the accused snatched her Vivo mobile phone while she was crossing the road near Bakarpur lights around 6 pm. In its judgment, the court noted that the complainant approached police within around one-and-a-half hours of the incident and specifically mentioned the registration number of the motorcycle allegedly used in the crime, PB65-AE-1490. "The complainant was vigilant enough to note down the registration number of the motorcycle," the court observed, adding that there was sufficient daylight at the time of the incident for her to identify the accused. The court held that the complainant spotted the accused again the next day near Airport Road and informed police, following which a naka was laid and the accused was apprehended. Police recovered the stolen Vivo mobile phone from the right pocket of his pants. Rejecting the defence argument that no test identification parade was conducted, the court held that the complainant had already seen the accused "well enough" during the incident and had independently identified him the next day before police detained him. The defence had also argued that police failed to verify ownership of the motorcycle immediately despite having the registration number and did not collect CCTV footage or join independent witnesses during recovery proceedings. However, the court held that lapses in investigation alone could not demolish an otherwise reliable prosecution case. "The convincing statement of the complainant cannot be left aside for the fault solely on the part of the investigating officer," the judge said. The court also relied on the recovery of the stolen phone within less than 24 hours and official records showing that the motorcycle used in the crime belonged to the accused. While sentencing the convict, the court observed, "the maximum sentence is not called for and some leniency can be shown to the accused, keeping in mind his young age and no previous conviction record." Apart from five years' RI, the court imposed a fine of Rs.10,000. Earlier this week, a Chandigarh court had also convicted two men in another mobile snatching case and sentenced them to five years in jail....