A local court in Rajasthan has concluded the trial in the daylight robbery and murder case that shook the town of Jhunjhunu, sentencing five men to life imprisonment. Presiding judge Kaluram of Additional Sessions Court Number 2 delivered the verdict, finding five individuals guilty of orchestrating the armed heist and killing showroom operator Jatin Soni. Concurrently, the court acquitted another accused person, Pramod Kumar alias Dholiya, citing insufficient evidence against him. The convicted men had staged an armed robbery at New Prakash Jewellers, plundering valuables and gunning down the proprietor when he attempted to flee.
Financial Penalties Imposed and Judicial Directions
Alongside the rigorous imprisonment terms, the trial court levied steep financial penalties against each of the convicted individuals. The court sentenced Deepak Pahal, Yogesh Kumar, and Vinod Kumar to life terms while directing each of them to pay a penalty of 1 lakh 26 thousand rupees. In the same verdict, the bench awarded life sentences to Ankit Kumar alias Meethu and Pratap Singh, ordering each of them to pay a penalty amounting to 1 lakh 32 thousand rupees.
Judge Kaluram specified in the operative order that all substantive sentences handed down to the convicts under various charges will run concurrently. The judgment further stipulated that the period of custody already undergone by the convicts, both in police custody and judicial detention during investigation and trial, will be set off against their overall sentence in accordance with statutory provisions.
Daylight Armed Raid Near Skyline Hospital
The violent incident took place on the afternoon of September 15, 2019. Around 2:37 pm, a gang of armed assailants arrived on a motorcycle and in a white Bolero near Skyline Hospital in the Mannagar locality. The gang barged inside the New Prakash Jewellers showroom. At that specific moment, Baisram alias Jatin Soni, the brother of jeweler Sandeep Soni, was managing operations inside alongside showroom employee Naveen. The criminals immediately trained pistols at both individuals, demanding that the inventory of ornaments be stuffed into bags while issuing direct threats to shoot them dead if they offered any resistance.
During the assault, the robbers forcibly removed a gold chain from Jatin Soni's neck to instill terror. In a bid to eliminate electronic evidence of the heist, the assailants simultaneously began rummaging around the premises to locate and remove the digital video recorder that stored surveillance footage from the closed-circuit cameras.
Leftover Identity Card Became Decisive Clue
Amid the chaotic ransacking of the showroom counters, one of the perpetrators exhibited extreme defiance by handing over his personal identity card to the jeweler. The criminal issued an open challenge to capture him if anyone had the capability to do so. That identity card, abandoned on the counter out of sheer bravado, eventually became the primary investigative clue for law enforcement officers, guiding their tracking operations across state borders.
Shot in Cold Blood on the Street and Demise in Jaipur Hospital
While the gang was busy grabbing jewelry from the display cases, Jatin Soni spotted an opening, pushed open the glass entrance door, and ran out onto the road to save his life. The armed men immediately chased him down into the street and opened fire without hesitation. Struck by bullets, Jatin collapsed onto the road bleeding profusely. Taking advantage of the pandemonium, the culprits fled the scene with ornaments worth lakhs of rupees.
Bystanders and associates rushed the critically injured merchant to a nearby medical center, from where doctors referred him to Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur due to severe bullet trauma. After fighting for his life in intensive care for approximately 25 days, Jatin succumbed to his injuries on October 9, 2019, inside SMS Hospital.
Mastermind Tracked Down from Bikaner After Five-Month Hunt
The investigation into the robbery and murder was led by Gopal Singh Dhaka, the then Kotwali police station house officer, alongside his specialized team. Detectives used the identity card belonging to main perpetrator Yogesh Charanwasi as their primary breakthrough lead. Acting on intelligence and tracking electronic trails, police units raided multiple hideouts across Rajasthan and Gujarat. Following an extensive five-month manhunt, law enforcement authorities tracked down and arrested the prime accused in Bikaner, subsequently unraveling the remaining members of the armed gang.
