After 15 Years, Delhi Court Finds All Accused Guilty In Journalist Soumya Vishwanathan Murder Case

Delhi's Saket court on Wednesday found all the accused guilty of the murder of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan in a 2008 case. Soumya Vishwanathan was tragically shot and killed on September 30, 2008, as she was driving home from work in her car at approximately 3:30 am.

While delivering the verdict, the court ensured the presence of all the accused, namely Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Ajit, Baljit, Ajay Sethi, and Ajay Kumar. The court expressed a strong conviction, stating, "There is no doubt that the accused individuals carried out the murder of Saumya Vishwanathan with the intent to rob her."

Additionally, the court has requested the state to submit an affidavit detailing the socio-economic circumstances of the accused. However, it's worth noting that the murder charge was not pursued against Ajay Sethi, as he was involved in the theft of the vehicle and was associated with a criminal organisation.

The court had on October 6 noted that arguments by the defence and the prosecution were complete, and posted the matter for today for additional arguments or clarifications.

Soumya Vishwanathan was shot dead on September 30, 2008 while returning home from work in her car around 3:30 AM. Police had claimed robbery was the motive behind her killing.

Five people- Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljeet Malik, Ajay Kumar and Ajay Sethi- were arrested for killing her and are in custody since March 2009.

Police had invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against the accused.

Malik and two others -- Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla -- were earlier convicted in the 2009 killing of IT executive Jigisha Ghosh.

Recovery of the weapon used in Jigisha Ghosh's killing had led to the cracking of the murder case of Vishwanathan, police said.

The trial court had awarded death penalty to Kapoor and Shukla and life term to Malik in the Jigisha Ghosh murder case in 2017. The next year, however, the high court had commuted the death sentence of Kapoor and Shukla to life imprisonment and upheld the life term of Malik in the Jigisha murder case.