Soumya Vishwanathan murder: Court sentences four convicts to life imprisonment, refuses death penalty request
₹1.25 lakh on each of them. However, the fifth convict in the case, Ajay Sethi, was sentenced to three years of prison, and a fine of ₹7.25 lakh. The court underlined that he has already gone more than 14 years of imprisonment.
Out of all the amount paid by the convicts, ₹12 lakh will be paid to the victims' families. The Delhi court had reserved the order for pronouncement of the quantum of sentence in the murder case of Soumya Vishwanathan on Thursday. Three accused in the case were convicted by the court on October 18, under Indian Penal Code section 302 (murder) and Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) provisions for committing organised crime resulting in the death of any person.
Fourth accused Ajay Sethi, was convicted under IPC section 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) and MCOCA provisions for conspiring to abet, aid, or knowingly facilitate organised crime and receiving proceeds of organised crime. Soumya Vishwanathan was shot dead on September 30, 2008, while she was on her way back home from work in her car around 3:30 am. The police investigation found robbery as the main motive behind the murder.
According to the prosecution, Ravi Kapoor shot Vishwanathan with a country-made pistol, while she was on her way back home from office. He was accompanied by Amit Shukla, Ajay Kumar, and Baljeet Malik. He had shot Vishwanathan on Nelson Mandela Marg in South Delhi while chasing the victim's car to rob her.
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