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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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
