New Delhi: Delhi’s Saket Court pronounced its verdict in the murder case of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan on Wednesday. The court convicted all the five accused Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Ajay Kumar, Baljeet Malik and Ajay Sethi, news agency PTI reported. While Kapoor, Shukla, Kumar and Malik were convicted under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) provisions, Sethi was convicted for receiving stolen property.
Additional Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Pandey of the Saket Court had reserved his judgement on October 13.
Soumya Vishwanathan, a journalist with the India Today Group, was shot dead while she was returning home from work in her car around 3:30 am on September 30, 2008. Five persons, identified as Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljeet Malik, Ajay Kumar and Ajay Sethi, were arrested and has been in custody since March 2009.
According to police, the motive behind her murder is robbery. Forensic reports suggested she had died due to a bullet injury in her head. This led to a murder investigation. Police further said during investigation, they found the victim was chased and the bullet was fired possibly from another moving vehicle.
It is to be noted that the recovery of a weapon in call centre executive Jigisha Ghosh's murder led to the cracking of Vishwanathan’s case, police said. Police initially arrested Kapoor and Shukla over their alleged connection in the Ghosh murder case. During their interrogation, they confessed to the murder of Vishwanathan.
The trial proceedings in the case started on November 16, 2010, in Saket Court after the arrest of the alleged accused. The hearing in the case concluded on July 19, 2016 and the Saket Court reserved its order for the next hearing. The verdict was deferred several times since then due to legal complications.
After Malik moved a petition in Delhi High Court in 2019 for speedy trial, it sought a report from the trial court over the delay. The trial court responded the delay was primarily due to the absence of prosecution witnesses, according to a report by PTI.
After a prolonged legal battle, the verdict in the case was finally pronounced on Wednesday.