A Delhi court on Wednesday convicted four people in the death case of India Today Group journalist Soumya Vishwanathan, who was shot dead on September 30, 2008, while she was returning home in her car.
Additional Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Pandey of the Saket Court convicted Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljeet Malik and Ajay Kumar under Section 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 in the 15-year-old murder case.
Fifth accused Ajay Sethi was convicted under Section 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) of IPC.
While Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljit Mallick and Akshay Kumar were held guilty of murder and loot, Ajay Sethi was held guilty of helping the others.
All five were also convicted under relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
The ASJ said the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt the charges against the accused. The Saket Court will now hear the matter on quantum of sentence on October 26.
Police had arrested the five accused in connection with the murder in March 2009 and they have remained behind the bars since.
Earlier on October 13, the ASJ had reserved his verdict in the case, giving time to both the parties for additional arguments or clarifications. Both the defence and the prosecution had completed their arguments earlier this month.
The 25-year-old journalist was shot dead at Delhi’s Vasant Vihar on September 30, 2008, while she was returning home from work in her car around 3:30 am.
In its 620-page charge sheet filed in 2009, Delhi Police had said that the motive behind the murder was robbery.
Police said that Soumya’s murder case was cracked after recovery of the weapon used in the killing of IT Executive Jigisha Ghosh.
In August 2016, a trial court awarded death penalty to Kapoor and Shukla, while sentencing Malik to life imprisonment in the Jigisha Ghosh murder case.
The Delhi High Court commuted the death sentence awarded to Kapoor and Shukla to life imprisonment in 2018. Malik’s life imprisonment was upheld by the High Court.
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