A magistrate court in Bandra has sentenced a 73-year-old man and his son to six months of rigorous imprisonment and fine for assaulting a shop owner – their business rival – with an iron rod in 2005, causing him injuries.
The septuagenarian Rohit Zarapkar had sought leniency on the grounds of his age and requested through his advocate that he be released on a bond of good behavior. The court refused leniency stating, “The business, even if small, should be done with hard work, skill and following the law of the land.” If leniency is shown, it said, a wrong message will go to society, particularly among small traders, that if law is taken into hand for revenge due to business rivalry, persons go without punishment.
Victim must be paid compensation
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate KH Thombre's order said that the accused to pay compensation of ₹5000 to the victim Vishwas Mahajan as he has suffered bodily pain and mental agony due to the incident.
A day before the incident, the senior Zarapkar and his son Bhushan had threatened the victim. Both parties ran spice shops near Citylight Cinema, Mahim. The Zarapkars had an issue as Mahajan had more customers. On Sep 11, 2005, as Mahajan was opening the store, the duo had assaulted him - the senior Zarapkar with an iron rod and his son, with bare hands. Before leaving, they broke his store's glass. During the trial, a regular customer of Mahajan who had witnessed the attack while grocery shopping in the area, had appeared before the court as an eyewitness and narrated the attack. She said that Mahajan had started bleeding from his head, but the duo had continued to assault him.
