Three robbers get life for killing policeman who tried to stop them

MUMBAI: The Mumbai sessions court on Wednesday sentenced three robbers to life imprisonment for killing a policeman who tried to stop them when they attempted to run away with a car. The court also imposed a fine of ₹16.40 lakh on each of the three convicts, identified as Raju Jha, 34, Anil Soni, 31, and Siraj Ansari, 24. The gang headed by Jha has several cases of robbery and dacoity registered against them. As per the prosecution case, the incident had occurred on August 31, 2012, when assistant sub-inspector Dattu Sarnobat,

53, was on night duty along with two other policemen – Chandrakant Shinde and Prakash Barve, all attached to Kherwadi police station.

Around 3.30 am, Sarnobat and his colleagues were patrolling the area when they spotted six men standing next to two cars — a white Indica and a red Swift Dzire — near a bridge. One Kaushal Tiwari, 30, called out for help, shouting that the men were trying to steal his Swift Dzire. Sarnobat got off, but before he could reach the spot, the accused pushed Tiwari to the floor and got into his Dzire. They dashed against Sarnobat, who landed on the car’s bonnet. The accused ran away leaving Sarnobat seriously injured.

Sarnobat was taken to Bhabha hospital and later shifted to Bombay Hospital where he succumbed to injuries on September 15. Meanwhile, the global positioning system in the Dzire led the police to Vakola pipeline where they caught two of the accused, Jha and Soni. Ansari was arrested later and tried with the other two.

The prosecution relied on the statements of eyewitnesses and previous cases registered against the three to prove that they were part of the same gang having several criminal cases registered against them.