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.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Standoff between Delhi, Shimla police after arrest of 3 Youth Congress activists
_vb_00.jpeg)
Shimla/New Delhi (PTI): In an ugly face-off, Himachal Pradesh police on Wednesday registered a kidnapping case against Delhi police personnel and "detained" their vehicles at the Shogi border near Shimla when they were heading back to the national capital with three Youth Congress members arrested in connection with the "shirtless protest" at the AI Summit.
"A case has been registered against 15-20 unknown people in plain clothes for forcibly taking three people staying in a resort in Rohru. They also took the CCTV installed in the resort with them and did not give any receipt," a statement issued by the Shimla police said.
The Delhi police had earlier on Wednesday said it had arrested three Youth Congress activists in connection with the February 20 protest at AI Impact Summit from a hotel in Chirgaon area of Rohru subdivision of Himachal's Shimla district.
Saurabh, Siddharth and Arbaz were apprehended by the Special Cell of Delhi Police. They were produced before a local court, which granted transit remand to enable the police to bring them to Delhi for further questioning, an official of the Delhi police said in the national capital.
Himachal Police sources claimed they intercepted three vehicles in Shimla and Solan districts and brought them back to Shimla as the Delhi police had not taken transit remand.
Both the Shimla police and the Delhi police accused each other of hampering the investigation.
The sources in Himachal Pradesh police claimed the team from Delhi carried out the operation in Shimla without informing the local police.
Acting on this, Himachal Pradesh police intercepted three vehicles carrying the accused -- who are reportedly not residents of Himachal Pradesh -- and Delhi Police personnel.
Two vehicles were stopped in Shimla, while the third was intercepted near Dharampur in Solan district. Around 20 people, including police personnel, were detained, the source said.
The Delhi police personnel again tried to leave for the national capital but were intercepted at Shogi border on Wednesday night on the road to Chandigarh and not allowed to leave.
In a video that appeared from the Shogi border in the suburbs of Shimla city, the Delhi police officers were heard saying that they had arrested three people in the morning in connection with an FIR registered on February 20.
VIDEO | Shimla: A jurisdiction dispute has erupted after the Delhi Police detained three Youth Congress workers in connection with an AI Summit protest pic.twitter.com/H7o7eaYOb8
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 25, 2026
"We have to produce the accused arrested at 5 am today in the court in 24 hours, and you have stopped us after registering an FIR at 8 pm," an officer of the Delhi police said.
However, the Shimla police officers maintained that a case of abduction has been registered and the Delhi police is hampering the investigation.
They alleged that the Delhi police carried out an illegal operation at Rohru without informing the local police and no papers of arrest were shown.
"I asked you for a legal document in the morning, but neither have you shown any document nor the FIR number and nor have you taken the transit remand," the officer of Shimla police is heard saying.
The "shirtless" protest at Bharat Mandapam on February 20 had triggered a major security response, with police earlier invoking charges including rioting and promoting enmity under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Indian Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib and former national spokesperson Bhudev Sharma were arrested in connection with the case on Tuesday. Both were produced before a Delhi court and remanded to police custody for interrogation.
According to the Delhi police, a total of 11 people have been arrested so far.
Earlier, on Saturday midnight, Delhi Police had raided Himachal Sadan in the national capital amid reports that Youth Congress workers who had participated in the protest were provided accommodation there.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had termed the action "unfortunate and against constitutional procedure".
A Delhi court on Wednesday extended by four days the police custody of five of the arrested in the case.
Arguing that the incident was not spontaneous but executed after prior planning, the Delhi police said that the initial probe revealed structured allocation of roles, concealment tactics and coordinated post-incident movement.
It, however, said that the entire conspiracy, including its hierarchy, funding and inter-state coordination, needed to be unearthed.
Chief Judicial Magistrate Mridul Gupta extended the custodial interrogation of the accused -- Krishna Hari, national secretary of the Youth Congress from Bihar; Kundan Yadav, state general secretary of Bihar; Ajay Kumar Singh, state vice-president of eastern Uttar Pradesh; and Narasimha Yadav, national coordinator of IYC from Telangana.
Meanwhile, the Delhi police on Wednesday denied permission to the Delhi Youth Congress to hold a dharna at Jantar Mantar in national capital on February 26, citing short notice and prevailing law and order concerns.
The Delhi Youth Congress had called the dharna on Thursday against the police action on IYC members who had taken part in the February 20 protest.
