Who is journalist Soumya Vishwanathan, murdered in 2008?

Today, a Delhi court convicted five individuals in the 2008 murder case of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan. The accused were also found guilty of robbery and were charged under the provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

The authorities found the convicts, Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljit Mallick, and Akshay Kumar, guilty of murder and robbery. They found the fifth convict, Ajay Sethi, guilty of aiding the others in their crimes.

Someone tragically killed Soumya Vishwanathan, a 25-year-old journalist with Headlines Today, in Delhi's Vasant Vihar on September 30, 2008. She was returning home from work when someone attacked her. Authorities discovered her body in her car with a gunshot wound to her head.

Following the verdict, Soumya’s mother addressed the media, stating, “We lost our daughter, but this will act as a deterrent for others.” She expressed her desire for the convicts to receive life imprisonment.

While investigating another murder - that of IT executive Jigisha Ghose, who they found dead in Faridabad a few months after Soumya's death, the police made their initial breakthrough in Soumya's case.

The suspects, Kapoor, Shukla, and Malik, were arrested in connection with Jigisha Ghose’s murder. During their interrogation, the police discovered their connection to the murder in Vasant Vihar. This led to the subsequent arrest of two more individuals linked to the case.

Who is journalist Soumya Vishwanathan

In 2008, Soumya Vishwanathan, a promising journalist working with India Today (then known as Headlines Today), sending shockwaves across the country. At the time, she was only 25 years old.

Born and raised in Kerala, Soumya was the only child of Vishwanathan and Madhavi1. She was found dead in her car in South Delhi’s Vasant Kunj area on September 30, 2008. Initially believed to be a car accident, forensic reports later revealed that she had died from a gunshot wound to the head.

On her unfortunate last night, Soumya returned home from work around 3:30 am when a group of robbers attacked her at Nelson Mandela Marg. Reportedly, they shot her while she was trying to escape them, and people found her body in her car with a bullet mark on her forehead.

Forensic Investigation

Forensic analysis confirmed that a gunshot wound to the head caused Soumya Vishwanathan's death, sparking a murder investigation. The police deduced that someone was trailing her and likely fired the fatal shot from another moving vehicle.

CCTV footage traced Soumya's movements in the area and showed a maroon car following her. The Mumbai-based crime branch teams quickly responded to the call, and initiated a comprehensive search operation to collect more evidence.

In a surprising turn of events in March 2009, Delhi police arrested two suspects, Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla, initially linked to the murder of call centre executive Jigisha Ghosh. During questioning, Kapoor and Shukla shockingly confessed to Soumya’s murder, describing it as a “thrilling activity.” Further investigation revealed that the maroon car seen in the CCTV footage was used in both crimes.

In June 2010, Delhi Police filed a charge sheet implicating Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, and two other suspects, Baljeet Malik and Ajay Sethi, in Soumya’s murder. The trial proceedings for Soumya’s case began on November 16, 2010, at Saket Court.

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