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Following a Delhi court's decision to sentence the accused in the journalist Soumya Vishwanathan murder case to seven years in prison, Madhvi Vishwanathan, the victim's mother, insisted on a life-term punishment, asserting that the convicts should experience the suffering that her family went through.
Speaking on the judgement, Soumya Vishwanathan's father HK Vishwanathan said, "Justice has been done...", while her mother, Madhvi said, "We demand life term for convicts, they should suffer what we went through." This was a big case for Delhi Police, said Special Commissioner HGS Dhaliwal while speaking to reporters in Delhi after the court pronounced judgement in the case. Dhaliwal added that the prosecution will seek a maximum sentence in the case. "We are happy and satisfied that justice has been served after 15 long years. This was a big case for Delhi Police. There were a lot of challenges in the case. The prosecution will seek maximum sentence in the case," HGS Dhaliwal said. He further said, "The team has made a lot of efforts for it. The case was dependent upon circumstantial evidence. It is challenging to secure a conviction on the basis of circumstantial evidence in murder cases." Delhi's Saket court earlier today pronounced the verdict in the 15-year-old murder case of Journalist Soumya Vishwanathan convicting five accused under provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). The court has convicted the four accused namely Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljeet Malik and Ajay Kumar for the offence of murder under sections 302, 34 of IPC and 3(1)(I) of MCOCA. The fifth accused Ajay Sethi has been convicted for the offence of possession of stolen property under 411 IPC and 3 (2) and 3 (5) of MCOCA. Ajay Sethi was discharged from the offence of murder. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) delivered the judgement. The Court said that the prosecution has proved beyond all reasonable doubt that the accused Ravi and others had committed the murder of the victim intending to rob her. "The prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that all accused persons convicted offences under MCOCA," the court said. The court has directed the Prosecution and the accused persons to file an affidavit and the Secretary of Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to submit a report regarding the accused persons under the victim compensation scheme and expenses incurred in the prosecution of the case. The parents of the deceased, MK Vishwanathan and Madhvi Vishwanathan were also present in the court. They expressed their satisfaction with the judgement of the court. Detailed judgement on the matter is awaited. News Channel journalist Soumya Vishwanathan was shot dead at Nelson Mandela Marg while returning home after her night shift on September 30, 2008. A case was registered at police station Vasant Vihar. She was shot in the forehead. Delhi Police had invoked the stringent Act MCOCA given the previous criminal cases against the convicted. This is a 15-year-old case related to the murder of a journalist that dates back to September 2008. (ANI)
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