Four convicted for murder of TV journalist in 2008

Five people were arrested for the murder and have been in custody since March 2009. Pic/Twitter

A Delhi court on Wednesday convicted four people for the murder of television journalist Soumya Vishwanathan, who was shot dead 15 years ago while she was returning home from work. Additional Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Pandey also convicted Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljeet Malik and Ajay Kumar under provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

Fifth accused Ajay Sethi was convicted under Indian Penal Code section 411 (dishonestly re-ceiving stolen property) and under MCOCA provisions for conspiring to abet, aid or knowingly facilitate organised crime and for receiving the proceeds of organised crime. The judge said the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt the charges against the accused and listed the matter for sentencing on October 26.

Vishwanathan was shot dead on September 30, 2008, while she was returning home from work in her car around 3:30 am. Police had claimed that the motive behind the killing was robbery. Five people were arrested for the murder and they have been in custody since March 2009.

The recovery of the weapon used in IT executive Jigisha Ghosh's killing had led to the cracking of Vishwanathan's murder case, police said. After Malik moved the Delhi High Court in 2019 for a speedy trial, it sought a report from the trial court, asking why the trial had not concluded even though the charge sheet was filed nine-and-a-half years ago.

They should suffer like we did: mother

Madhavi Viswanathan, mother of Soumya Vishwanathan, demand-ed life imprisonment for all four people convicted for her daughter's murder by a Delhi court, saying they should suffer what her family went through. "We lost our daughter. We demand life term for convicts, they should suffer what we went through," Madhavi told reporters.