Plea bargain may save Mumbai robbers’ day

Four foreigners, accused of stealing diamonds worth Rs6.6 crore from an exhibition, have filed for the right to enter into a plea bargain in the Bombay high court.

Plea bargaining, according to the law, is the bargaining done with the court on the sentence meted out to the guilty party. It’s a relatively new concept that has been recently introduced to the Indian judicial system to reduce the burden of pending cases.

This legal concept is applicable to only those offences that carry the imprisonment of up to seven years as punishment. It does not however, apply to crimes that affect the socio-economic condition of the country or one that has been committed against a woman or a child below the age of 14.

Sources from the crime branch say that the accused have recently filed an application in the court regarding a plea bargain, and some development regarding the matter is expected within the fortnight. The accused have pleaded guilty to the crime, the sources added.

The four accused had visited a jewellery exhibition in Goregaon. At one of the counters about 887.24 carats of diamonds were on display, amidst tight surveillance.

However, in the late evening, the staff at the stall suddenly realized that the diamonds had gone missing. They started searching for it, but could not find it anywhere. They then raised an alarm and all the gates at the exhibition centre were sealed immediately.

All the people inside were thoroughly checked before being asked to leave. The officials said that it was some time before the organizers and the police team discovered that four foreigners have been captured on the closed circuit camera, taking the diamonds and putting them in a bag.

The police team informed the Interpol about the crime and the accused were arrested at the Dubai airport.