Fifteen years after 25-year-old journalist Soumya Vishwanathan was killed, a Delhi court on Wednesday announced the conviction of five accused under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). In this period, over 300 hearings were held and 97 witnesses were examined.
However, the parents of Soumya Vishwanathan struggled to articulate their sentiments in response to their conviction of their daughter’s murder in 2008.
Her mother, Madhavi Vishwanathan to, 78 years old told The Indian Express, “The order will serve as a befitting response to anyone who might be thinking of repeating this act… As for us, we have already lost our younger daughter and she will not come back now. The order does not change that even though we knew all along that the men standing trial were her killers.”
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Madhavi, a former lecturer at Delhi University who later switched to the private sector, spoke of life after Soumya’s death as an enduring trial.
She mentioned how they’ve preserved Soumya’s room, adorned with photographs from her school and college days, to maintain a sense that she is still present with them. “It gives us a feeling that she’s still with us,” Madhavi told The Indian Express while sitting in their Vasant Kunj residence.
The courtroom proceedings during the trial further compounded the ordeal for the couple, with multiple adjournments. “The sentence’s length is yet to be determined, but we do not seek the death penalty for them. They should endure a life sentence, experiencing the suffering we have endured throughout these years,” Madhavi remarked.
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Soumya pursued her undergraduate degree at DU’s Kamla Nehru College and her postgraduate studies in journalism at IIMC, Dhenkanal.
Her father, MK Vishwanathan, 82 years old, worked at Voltas before retiring a few years prior to her end. He recounted Soumya’s career at India Today’s Headlines Today in February 2008.
“On the day of the incident, she stayed back at the office as she was producing a news story on two bomb blasts, one in Malegaon in Maharashtra and the other in Gujarat… she was a hardworking journalist, everyone in the media industry knew that. She left in her own car as we told her not to take the office cab which might be unsafe,” Vishwanathan said.
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He recalled his interaction with the main accused, Ravi Kapoor, who was apprehended in Jigisha Ghosh’s murder. When Vishwanathan asked Kapoor why he had taken his daughter’s life, Kapoor responded, “Galti se hogaya, maarna nahi chahta tha (It was a mistake; I didn’t intend to kill her)”
Vishwanathan added, “If you ask me if I’m happy today, I’ll tell you that justice has been done but nothing will bring back our daughter now… it’s an irreparable loss. My daughter had done nothing wrong to her killers but still they did what they did, and that too so close to our house.”
Vishwanathan reflected on how well-known his daughter was in their community. “She was beloved among our neighbours. Some of her friends still visit us, and we welcome them as our own children. Our elder daughter resides in Vietnam, so life here has grown lonely,” Madhavi added.
A neighbour, Preeti Bahl, who had known Soumya since she was three years old, revealed that a day before the incident, Soumya had confided that she would take a week’s leave from work to visit her mother-in-law.
“The next day, a little after midnight, we received information about her death… Soumya was the kindest person one will ever see and her death was like a jolt to all us neighbours as she was part of the family,” Bahl added.
Madhavi now advises her daughter not to drive alone in her car when returning home from late-night shifts. “The fear always lingers,” she said.