Don't believe in death penalty, demand life term for convicts: journo Soumya Vishwanathan's mother
New Delhi, (PTI): "We don't believe in death penalty. We demand life imprisonment for convicts, they should suffer what we went through," said Madhavi Vishwanathan, mother of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan, who was shot dead 15 years ago.
Speaking to reporters soon after a Delhi court convicted four people for the murder of Soumya Vishwanathan on Wednesday, Madhavi Vishwanathan said the verdict will act as a deterrent for other such people who would have been emboldened had her daughter's killers gone unpunished.
The journalist's father M K Vishwanathan, who spent a sleepless night on Tuesday ahead of the court order, said though his daughter will not come back now, he is happy that justice has been delivered.
Soumya Vishwanathan, who was working with a leading English news channel, was shot dead in the early hours of September 30, 2008 on Nelson Mandela Marg while she was returning home from work in her car. Police had claimed that the motive behind the killing was robbery.
Earlier in the day, the court convicted Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljeet Malik and Ajay Kumar of an organised crime syndicate for her murder and also under provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), saying the charges against them are "duly proved beyond all reasonable doubt".
Fifth accused Ajay Sethi was convicted under Section 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) of the Indian Penal Code and under MCOCA provisions for conspiring to abet, aid or knowingly facilitate organised crime and for receiving the proceeds of organised crime.
The court would hear arguments on the quantum of punishment to be awarded to the convicts on October 26.
"We lost our daughter... but I must say this decision will act as a deterrent for others. Otherwise, these people would have gained courage. Now at least one such gang will get punished," Madhavi Vishwanathan said.
She said their elder daughter, who lives in Kenya's Nairobi, was convinced that justice would prevail.
M K Vishwanathan told PTI that his family's 15-year-long struggle for justice has finally borne fruit.
"Justice has been delivered today. My daughter will not come back... we demand life sentence for them (convicts)," he said.
"I really want to thank the authorities, especially Delhi Police officers who worked day and night to arrest the culprits," he added.
In 2019, Soumya Vishwanathan's parents met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, seeking a speedy trial and justice for her. They had raised concern over both the pace of the trial and the "quality of efforts" being put in the proceedings by the prosecution.
Asked if he managed to get any sleep last night, M K Vishwanathan said, "How could we? But we are happy today."
Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) HGS Dhaliwal, who was posted as DCP (South) when Soumya Vishwanathan was murdered and whose team cracked the case, was also present in court.
On seeing Dhaliwal, Madhavi Vishwanathan hugged him and thanked him for his efforts.
Dhaliwal said it was a very challenging case and it took more than six months to crack it.
"Family members of Soumya Vishwanathan kept faith in Delhi Police and did not want the case to be transferred to any central agency. However, the case was challenging as there was no physical contact between the victim and the accused. Only a bullet was fired from a moving vehicle that hit Soumya, killing her," Dhaliwal told reporters.
He said Soumya Vishwanathan's family members attended every single review meeting of the case from the day the incident took place till the case was solved.
The recovery of the weapon used in IT executive Jigisha Ghosh's killing in March 2009 had led to the cracking of Soumya Vishwanathan's murder case, according to police.
The five people arrested for the journalist's murder have been in custody since March 2009.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
