Soumya Vishwanathan murder case: A Delhi court on Wednesday announced the conviction of five accused in the 2008 murder case of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan. The court also held the accused guilty of looting under provisions of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
"The additional report regarding verification of the affidavits of all the convicts has been received from the Secretary, Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DLSA), South, Saket Courts. A copy of the same is supplied to the public prosecutor for the state as well as to the respective counsel for the convicts," Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Ravindra Kumar Pandey said.
What happened on September 30 in 2008?
Soumya was shot dead on September 30, 2008 while she was returning home in her car from the office in the wee hours. The police had earlier claimed robbery as the motive behind the killing. But forensic reports indicated she died due to a bullet injury in her head, subsequently, the police added murder charges and headed an inquiry.
Who was Soumya Vishwanathan?
Soumya Vishwanathan was a journalist with the 'Headlines Today' news channel. The journalist was shot dead while she was returning from work.
After the verdict, Soumya Vishwanathan's mother got a bit emotional and was later hugged by the Special Commissioner of Police Delhi, HGS Dhaliwal today.
Dhaliwal said, "We are happy and satisfied that justice has been served after 15 long years. This was a big case for Delhi Police. There were a lot of challenges in the case. The prosecution will seek maximum sentence in the case."
How did the arrest of two accused in another case solve the murder mystery?
For the first six months, the probe could not progress but the arrest of two accused Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla, who were arrested for their involvement in another case, led to solve the murder mystery. Both of them were arrested in the murder case of call centre executive Jigisha Ghosh. During the interrogation, the duo admitted the killing of another woman Soumya Vishwanathan.
What did Delhi Police say after the conviction?
"We all are satisfied. The team has made a lot of effort for it. The case was dependent upon circumstantial evidence. It is challenging to secure a conviction on the basis of circumstantial evidence in murder cases. There were a lot of challenges," said Special Commissioner of Police, Delhi, HGS Dhaliwal after the verdict in the murder case of Delhi journalist Soumya Vishwanathan.
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