A court here has refused to release on probation a man convicted of pick-pocketing a tourist at Red Fort, saying he appeared to be a “professional criminal” who targeted innocent tourists.
Additional Sessions Judge Hemani Malhotra passed the order while upholding the two-year jail term awarded to Delhi resident Ayaz Ahmad by a magisterial court for pick-pocketing one Badri Prasad’s wallet in front of Red Fort in December 2013.
“No lenient view can be taken as convict appears to be a habitual offender and from whose possession stupefying substance and foreign currency was recovered,” the court said, while refusing convict’s plea seeking probation on the grounds that he was of young age and had family to support.
“The objective of the Probation of Offenders Act is to provide opportunity to a wrong-doer to reform himself but in present case, convict appears to be a professional criminal who targets innocent tourists,” it said.
The court’s observations came on the appeal moved by Ahmad against a metropolitan magistrate’s order which had sentenced him to two years in jail for pick-pocketing.
“Bare perusal of the testimony of witness one (Prasad) clearly depicts that convict (Ahmad) was apprehended at the spot while he was trying to escape after picking the pocket of complainant (Prasad) and the stolen wallet of the complainant was recovered from his possession,” the court said.
According to the prosecution, Prasad had claimed in his FIR that on December 29, 2013 Ahmad picked his back pocket while standing in the queue to purchase tickets to visit Red Fort.
When he raised an alarm, Ahmad was nabbed with the help of police on duty there.
Ahmad, however, had stated before the court that he was innocent and had been falsely implicated in the case.
