A magistrate court has sentenced two men in their mid-twenties to two-year imprisonment for breaking into ex-MP Priya Dutt’s Khar cafe 'Mommy Joon' last year and stealing four tablets and some cash.
The court also ordered Santhosh Bhoir, a Nalasopara resident and Nirajkumar Kashyap, from Santacruz, to pay a fine of Rs. 15,000. Further, of the amount from stolen items, if recovered, Rs. 5,000 is to be paid as compensation to the owner of the cafe, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate KH Thombre ordered in the judgment of last Monday.
On the intervening night of Nov 16 and 17 last year, the cafe was broken into and two tabs of Samsung, two of Lenovo, and some cash were stolen by the miscreants.
The magistrate observed that every person has the right to protect their property and offences related to property, especially theft, are to be dealt with punishment.
"If it is not dealt with by punishment, then people will not feel safe in protecting their property and a wrong message will be given that theft is an offence that the law does not take care of," it stated, adding that taking away someone else's property by breaking the lock requires strong criminal intention. The court termed it a serious offence.
While awarding the compensation, the court said that in the present case, the owner of the hotel suffered losses as their articles were stolen and the door was broken, hence, they are required to be compensated.
The accused had sought the benefit of the Probation of Offenders Act, by which most first-time offenders are shown leniency by the courts and let off on a bond of good behaviour. The court noted that the duo have criminal antecedents and hence cannot be given the benefit of the Act.
