Dacoity & murder: Five convicted by Barrackpore Court

Kolkata: Five persons were convicted for dacoity and murder, attempt to murder and other offences by the Barrackpore Court on Saturday where for the first time in India, a bluetooth device was used to prove one of the offenders guilty.

The quantum of the punishment is scheduled to be announced on Monday. According to police, on May 24, 2023, five armed robbers barged inside a jewellery shop and looted gold ornaments worth a significant amount. During the robbery, the miscreants began firing to create panic. In the shootout, the shop owner’s son Niladri Singh and a security guard suffered bullet injuries. Local people took the injured duo to a local hospital where Singh was declared brought dead.

The charge was framed against the five persons during December, 2023 and trial had started in January 2024. During the probe, police using technical help, arrested all the five miscreants from different places. The Special Public Prosecutor, Bivas Chatterjee said that during the trial that he used a Bluetooth audio device as a tool to ensure conviction as the mobile phone which was paired and connected was seized from one of the five convicted. This apart, Chatterjee had used Internet Protocol Detail Record (IPDR) to ascertain the position and the time of the crime committed by the five convicted as one of them was standing outside of the shop keeping an eye in case police arrived.

All the five convicts have previous criminal records for their involvement in several cognisable crimes.