Thaindian News

New Delhi, April 11 (IANS) An airport cargo loader held guilty of stealing a mobile phone from a consignment was let off without a severe punishment by a Delhi court Monday after the complainant airline requested that he be given a chance to reform.

Deepak Kumar spent one week in jail after arrest for stealing the mobile phone from the cargo consignment of Indigo Airlines in 2009.

The court sentenced him to one week’s imprisonment, already undergone by him, along with a fine.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Rajesh Kumar Goel accepted the submission of an airline official that the cost of the stolen mobile in question was not more than Rs.1,000 and that Deepak may be given a chance to reform.

“Keeping in view the facts and circumstances of the case and taking into consideration the social and the educational background of the convict (Deepak Kumar), he is sentenced to imprisonment for the period already undergone along with a fine of Rs.1,000,” the court said.

The court, while pronouncing the sentence, also took into consideration that he had suffered a lot in the last 18 months.

“He is very poor and has no source of income today,” said the court.

Nilesh Madurwar, assistant manager (security) of Indigo Airlines, lodged a complaint Sep 29, 2009, with the Delhi airport police station that Deepak stole a mobile phone from a cargo consignment which was booked for a Delhi-Patna flight.

“Deepak was deployed for loading of cargo. Before loading the consignment, the accused committed the theft of the mobile phone. The accused was apprehended red handed and a mobile phone without a battery and a SIM card was recovered from him,” said the airline official.

The court convicted Deepak April 8 after relying on testimony of six witnesses.