15 Years Later, Five Pronounced Guilty For The Murder Of TV Journalist Saumya Vishwanathan
On Wednesday, a Delhi court pronounced five people guilty for a murder that happened 15 years ago, on September 30, 2008. Saumya Vishwanathan, who was a TV journalist was shot dead in her car while she was returning from her work at 3:30 am. Five people were arrested adhering to the murder and they have been in the custody from March 2009. Police said the motive that led to the killing was robbery.
Additional Sessions Judge accentuated Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljeet Malik and Ajay Kumar under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). Ajay Sethi, who was the fifth accused was charged under Indian Penal Code section 411 which adheres to “dishonestly receiving stolen property”. He was also charged under MCOCA provision which speaks about conspiring to assist or knowingly aid or facilitate organised crime a receiving the proceeds (any property obtained, directly or indirectly) of the organised crime. The case will be sentenced (deciding on the actual punishment to the culprits) on October 26th.
The breakthrough for the killing of Ms. Vishwanathan was attained after tracking down the weapons used for another murder. Jigisha Ghosh, a 28 year-old IT executive was kidnapped and three days later, her body was found. After Ms. Gosh was dropped home by her office cab at 4 am, she was abducted by four men who robbed her, and then murdered her and “dumped” her body at Faridabad roadside, from where her body was recovered three days later.
Police has sacked the culprits within a week of the crime with the help of the CCTV footages around the areas and by tracking down the areas from which the culprits extracted money using Jigisha’s ATM card. The murder of Jigisha happened in 2009. The court observed that the “magnitude and brutality of the crime makes it fall in the category of rarest of rare” and gave death penalty for the culprits of “brutal and cold-blooded murder” of Ms. Gosh. It Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla who was awarded with death penalty for the crime in the case. The punishment was pronounced in August 22, 2016.
Ravi Kapoor was awarded with death penalty in one more murder case. Taxi driver Mohd Nadeem was found dead near a forest area in south Delhi, near to Vasanth Kunj. After being captured for Ms, Gosh’s murder, Ravi Kapoor disclosed murder of the taxi driver to the police, says Indian Expressed.
Nadeem was murdered on January 8, 2009. The culprits were captured in March of 2009 for the murder of Jigisha Ghosh. On March 3rd, Ravi disclosed about his involvement in the murder of taxi driver Mohd Nadeem. A charge sheet was filed on July 1, 2009 adhering to Nadeem’s murder. For the murder of Jigisha Ghosh, Ravi Kapoor was sentenced to death on August 22, 2016. And for the murder of Saumya Vishwanath, which happened in 2008, the court has declared Ravi Kapoor others guilty and punishment will be declared on October 26, 2023.
