Soumya Vishwanathan murder: All 4 accused awarded life sentence
All the four accused in the 2008 murder of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan were sentenced to life in prison by Delhi's Saket Court on Saturday. The four accused, Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Balbir Malik, and Ajay Kumar, were also fined Rs. 25,000 each and Rs. 1 lakh each under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
Fifth convict got 3 years in jail
Ajay Sethi, the fifth accused, was sentenced to three years in prison. Reportedly, the court turned down the death penalty request, stating that the case was not among the rarest of the rare. The police had previously said that the motive behind the murder was robbery. They were convicted on October 18 under Indian Penal Code Section 302 (murder) and provisions of the MCOCA.
Know what the court said
"It is unfortunate that Soumya, who was a young, dynamic, and hardworking journalist, lost her life," the court said while pronouncing the order. "When In India, the female work participation rate has been declining, and one of the reasons for such decline is that women face a higher risk of abuse and assault while traveling to and from work."
Breakthrough in the murder case came in 2009
Soumya, an India Today Group journalist, was shot dead in the early hours of September 30, 2008, while driving home from work on South Delhi's Nelson Mandela Marg. A breakthrough in the murder case came during an investigation into the robbery and murder of another woman, Jigisha Ghosh, in 2009.
Ghosh was looted and murdered
Ghosh was robbed and murdered on March 18, 2009. The police arrested Ravi Kapoor in connection with this case. During questioning, he stated that they had murdered another woman (Soumya). After the verdict on October 18, Soumya's mother said, "Not death sentence, I would prefer life imprisonment," adding that the convicts should go through what her family did.
Court reserved order on sentence for Saturday
Additional Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Pandey, Saket Court, who was slated to hear arguments on the quantum of punishment, adjourned the matter on November 7. He stated that the verification of the affidavits filed by the prisoners was incomplete. On Friday, the court reserved its order on the quantum of punishment for Saturday after noting that the arguments on the sentencing had been completed.
