March 25, 2009 12:33:16 am
Soumya Vishwanathan (27),a news producer with Headlines Today,was shot dead when she refused to stop her car,the police said. Her assailants intended to rob her and had fired to scare her.
She was found dead in her car on Nelson Mandela Marg on September 30 last year.
Soumya was heading home to Vasant Kunj in her Maruti Zen after finishing work. Her shift was to end at midnight but she was at work till 3 am after blasts were reported from Malegoan.
She left her Jhandewalan office around 3 am. Her elder sister and brother-in-law had flown in from Vietnam after a long time and were waiting for her at home. Soumya spoke to her father around 3.15 am while on her way,informing him that she would reach home in another 15-20 minutes.
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Soumya was then found dead in her car. The police had said a rickshaw puller had called them around 3.30 am informing them about an accident. In the afternoon,the police were informed by doctors at the AIIMS trauma centre that there was a bullet in her skull. At this point,the police registered a murder case and started investigations.
The police questioned a boy who worked in a nearby restaurant and was reportedly passing by when the incident occurred.
During investigations,the police worked on personal enmity and road rage angles at the initial stages.
Two months after the murder,the police ruled out all earlier theories attempted robbery and personal enmity and strongly focused on the road rage angle. Over 200 people were interrogated and around 50 vehicles were examined during this period.
The police then took out a list of some 400 mobile phones active in the vicinity of Nelson Mandela Marg that day and their call details that were look at. They were,however,unable to reach any conclusion. The police even questioned youths who frequented pubs in the area. Investigators said bad characters of the area were also quizzed.
Almost six months later,now the police claim they have cracked the case. They said Jigisha Ghoshs killers were also the ones who shot and killed Soumya.
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