NEW DELHI:(*15*) In a serious improvement, a Delhi courtroom on Wednesday handed down convictions to 5 accused in reference to the 2008 homicide of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan. The courtroom held Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljit Mallik, and Akshay Kumar responsible of each homicide and theft. Additionally, Ajay Sethi, the fifth accused, was discovered responsible of aiding and abetting the others within the crime.
The accused have been convicted not just for the homicide but in addition underneath the provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act. All the accused, who had been in custody since March 2009 once they have been arrested on the homicide cost, have been discovered responsible of theft. During the pronouncement of the decision, the courtroom emphasised that there was little doubt the accused had murdered Saumya Vishwanathan with the intent to rob her. “It’s beyond doubt that the accused murdered Saumya Vishwanathan with the intention to rob her,” the courtroom stated whereas delivering the decision.
Trial And Legal Proceedings
The trial had seen numerous twists and turns. After the conclusion of the listening to in July 19, 2016, at Saket Court, the judgment was reserved for the following listening to. However, the ultimate verdict was delayed a number of instances resulting from authorized complexities and different authorized hurdles.
Who Was Soumya Vishwanathan?
Soumya Vishwanathan was a 25-year-old journalist whose life was tragically minimize brief on September 30, 2008, in Delhi’s Vasant Vihar. Her lifeless physique was found in her automobile, having suffered a deadly gunshot wound to the top. The dreadful incident occurred round 3.30 AM whereas she was driving dwelling after work.
Forensic Investigation
Forensic examination and stories confirmed that Soumya Vishwanathan’s explanation for loss of life was a gunshot wound to the top, setting off a homicide investigation. The police findings steered she was being adopted, and the deadly shot was presumably fired from one other transferring car.
CCTV footage traced Soumya’s actions within the neighborhood, revealing a maroon automobile tailing hers. Mumbai-based crime department groups have been promptly summoned, and an in depth search operation was launched to collect additional proof.
Arrests & Shocking Confessions
In March 2009, Delhi police apprehended two suspects, Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla, initially in reference to the homicide of name centre govt Jigisha Ghosh. During the following confrontation, Kapoor and Shukla shockingly confessed to the homicide of Soumya, describing it as a “thrilling activity.” The investigation additional revealed that the maroon automobile captured within the CCTV footage was utilized in each heinous crimes.
In June 2010, Delhi Police filed a cost sheet implicating Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, and two different suspects, Baljeet Malik and Ajay Sethi, within the homicide. The trial proceedings in Soumya’s case commenced on November 16, 2010, at Saket Court.
The Trial And Legal Battle
Key forensic proof, together with ballistics matching bullets to the firearm owned by the perpetrators, surveillance footage, and confessions of the accused, have been introduced through the intensive trial. The protection raised issues about ‘confessions underneath duress’ and the ‘reliability of forensic proof,’ making an attempt to query the prosecution’s narrative.
The Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) was invoked towards the accused. Three of the convicted people – Malik, Kapoor, and Shukla – have been additionally discovered responsible within the 2009 killing of IT govt Jigisha Ghosh.
Link Between Soumya and Jigisha Murder Cases
The case took a major flip in the direction of justice in 2009 with the restoration of Jigisha’s homicide weapon. Progressing additional, a standard accused in each circumstances confessed his involvement in Soumya’s homicide through the Jigisha homicide case listening to. In August 2016, the trial courtroom handed down the loss of life penalty to Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla, together with a life time period for Baljeet Malik within the Jigisha Ghosh homicide case. However, in January 2018, the excessive courtroom commuted the loss of life sentences of Kapoor and Shukla to life imprisonment whereas upholding Malik’s life time period.
The latest convictions present a way of closure to the harrowing homicide case that shook the journalistic and authorized communities alike. The journey to justice has been lengthy and arduous, however this verdict marks a major step in the direction of accountability for the perpetrators.
