Mohali, Aug. 26 -- A Mohali court has sentenced a Patiala resident to one year of rigorous imprisonment (RI) for possessing stolen gold chains, while acquitting him of the charge of snatching them. The fast track special court also imposed a fine of Rs.5,000 on Gursewak Singh, a resident of Sekhopur in Patiala, and ordered him to undergo another 15 days in jail if he failed to pay the fine. Additional sessions judge Vikrant Kumar pronounced the judgment in a case registered at Dera Bassi police station under Sections 379-B and 411 of the IPC. The case related to the snatching of gold chains from two women in the Mor Thikri area in July and August 2023. According to the prosecution, Pooja Sharma was returning home with her nine-month-old daughter after an evening walk near Amrawati Enclave on August 6, 2023, when a man allegedly approached her and snatched her gold chain. She later identified Gursewak Singh and his co-accused Ankit after police arrested them in another snatching case in Panchkula. The prosecution also linked the accused to a second incident involving Anjana Chauhan, who allegedly lost her gold chain on the main road in Shivjot Colony, Mor Thikri, on July 5, 2023. Police later recovered two broken gold chains from the accused during the investigation. Gursewak allegedly led police to one chain hidden in an almirah at a Ramgarh house, while Ankit led them to another inside a trunk at his residence. However, the court found that the prosecution failed to establish beyond reasonable doubt that Gursewak was one of the persons who had actually snatched the chains. The court noted that neither Pooja nor Anjana knew the accused earlier and that both identified them at the police station after police told them their names. It also noted that police did not conduct a test identification parade. The court observed that the prosecution case would have been different if the complainants had identified Gursewak from among several persons. Since the accused was shown to them at the police station, the court held that it was unsafe to conclude that he had committed the snatching. The court, however, accepted the evidence regarding recovery of the stolen chains from Gursewak and held that the prosecution had proved the offence under Section 411 IPC. It said he dishonestly received or retained the stolen property knowing or having reason to believe that it was stolen. Co-accused Ankit died during the trial, following which proceedings against him were abated. Gursewak was taken into custody after the court convicted him and subsequently sentenced him to one year in jail....