# India

Four Found Guilty Of Killing Soumya Vishwanathan, That Shocked Delhi 15 Years Ago

On Wednesday, a Delhi court rendered a major ruling, finding five defendants guilty in relation to the 2008 assassination of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan. Ravi Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Amit Shukla, and Baljit Mallik were all found guilty of robbery and murder by the court. Encouragement and abetting the other defendants in the crime were also judged to have been committed by Ajay Sethi, the fifth accused.

Statesman News Service | New Delhi | October 18, 2023 4:50 pm

Four Found Guilty Of Killing Soumya Vishwanathan, That Shocked Delhi 15 Years Ago

Journalist Soumya Vishwanathan murder case: A Delhi court on Wednesday found five defendants guilty in connection with the 2008 murder of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan, marking a significant breakthrough. The court found that Amit Shukla, Baljit Mallik, Ravi Kapoor, and Akshay Kumar were guilty of both robbery and murder. The fifth accused, Ajay Sethi, was also found guilty of encouraging and abetting the other defendants in the crime. In addition to being found guilty of murder, the accused were also found guilty under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act. After being detained since March 2009 on suspicion of murder, all of the suspects were convicted of robbery. The judge stressed during the verdict announcement that there was no question that the accused killed Saumya Vishwanathan with the intention of robbing her. “There is no question that the accused killed Saumya Vishwanathan with the intent to rob her,” the court declared when handing down its decision.

Fatal Gunshot To The Head

The life of 25-year-old journalist Soumya Vishwanathan was cruelly taken on September 30, 2008, in Vasant Vihar’s Nelson Mandela Road, Delhi. She had a fatal gunshot wound to the head when her lifeless body was found in her car. She was heading home from work at around 3:30 AM when the horrible incident happened. The same day, a First Information Report (FIR) was filed in this matter, charging unidentified persons with murder under Section 302 of the IPC. However, the police’s investigation didn’t make any significant progress until a year after the murder. Tech enthusiast Jigisha Ghosh’s body was found in Faridabad on March 21, 2009. Three people—Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, and Baljeet Malik—were taken into custody by the police in connection with this crime. Under interrogation, Malik is said to have disclosed the second accused person’s purported role in Vishwanathan’s death. Ajay Sethi and Ajay Kumar were later taken into custody in relation to the case.

Forensic Tests And Reports

An investigation into Soumya Vishwanathan’s death was initiated after forensic tests and reports verified that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head. According to the police report, she was being followed, and it is most likely that a moving vehicle fired the fatal shot. Soumya’s activities in the area were captured on CCTV, and it showed a maroon car following hers. Teams from the criminal branch in Mumbai were called in immediately, and a thorough search was initiated to obtain more evidence. Subsequently, the police claimed to have located the pistol in Kapoor’s house that was used to kill Vishwanathan. At the time, reports also stated that Kapoor had shot Vishwanathan once to try to halt her car for a heist, but when she refused to stop, he had fatally shot her.

With the recent convictions, the horrific murder case that rocked the legal and journalistic communities together has some finality. Although the road to justice has been a long and difficult one, this decision is a big step in the right direction for the offenders’ accountability.

# India

Kejriwal, Mann among AAP’s 40 star campaigners in J&K

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann are among 40 star campaigners for Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections whose names appear in the list which the Aam Aadmi Party has submitted to the Election Commission of India.

# Cities