Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Apr 30: In a significant ruling, an appellate court in the city has sentenced a robbery accused to seven years of rigorous imprisonment, overturning the earlier acquittal by a trial court.

The convicted accused has been identified as Shivakumar (38), a resident of RML Nagar in Shivamogga. The second accused in the case, Muthum, has since passed away.

According to case details, the incident occurred on June 26, 2017, when Lokesh was walking near a football ground in the city while speaking on his mobile phone. Shivakumar allegedly snatched a mobile phone worth around Rs 10,000 from him, while the co-accused Muthum robbed a gold chain weighing about 10 grams, valued at approximately Rs 40,000, from Lokesh.

A case in this regard was registered at Mangaluru South police station.

The matter was initially tried at the 2nd additional senior civil judge and CJM court in Mangaluru, where both accused were acquitted. Challenging the acquittal, the prosecution filed an appeal.

The appeal came up for hearing before the additional district and sessions court (FTSC-1) fast-track court. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court found the accused guilty, set aside the earlier acquittal order, and convicted Shivakumar.

Judge Mohan J S sentenced Shivakumar to seven years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 50,000 under Section 392 of the Indian Penal Code.

Government prosecutor K Badarinath Nayak represented the state in the appellate court.