2008 Soumya Vishwanathan Murder: Delhi Court Sentences 4 Convicts To Life Imprisonment
A court in Delhi on Saturday sentenced four convicts to life imprisonment for killing TV journalist Soumya Vishwanathan in 2008, while the fifth convict was sent to three years in jail.
While sentencing Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljeet Malik and Ajay Kumar to life imprisonment, the court of Additional Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Pandey also imposed a fine of Rs 1.25 lakh on each of them.
The fifth convict, Ajay Sethi, was sentenced to three years of simple imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 7.25 lakh. The court, however, noted that he had already undergone more than 14 years of imprisonment.
Why court did not award death penalty?
The court also ordered that of the total fine amount imposed on the convicts, Rs 12 lakh will be paid to the victim's family.
Ordering the quantum of punishment, the additional sessions judge said the offence does not fall in the category of rarest of rare cases. So, the request for death penalty is refused, he said.
Who was Soumya Vishwanathan?
Soumya Vishwanathan, a TV journalist?who was?working with India Today, then called Headlines Today,?was shot dead in the national capital on September 30, 2008, during a robbery attempt.
On the night of September 30, 2008, Soumya was on her way home in?Delhi's Vasant Kunj?in her car when she was attacked by a group of robbers at Nelson Mandela Marg.
The accused were arrested in March 2009 by the police while probing a similar crime - the death of Jigisha Ghosh, a call centre executive, was shot dead on March 19.
What are the charges against the convicts??
Last month, Additional Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Pandey had found four accused guilty of murder, Indian Penal Code section 302 (murder) and Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) provisions for committing organised crime resulting in the death of any person, while the fifth was convicted under IPC section 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) and MCOCA provisions for conspiring to abet, aid, or knowingly facilitate organised crime and receiving proceeds of organised crime.
After the accused were pronounced guilty, the family of Soumya Vishwanathan had said that they did not want the death penalty for the accused.
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