<p>New Delhi: A Delhi court that on Wednesday convicted four men of the murder of television journalist Soumya Vishwanathan during committing an organised crime and a fifth accused for receiving the proceeds of the crime under the MCOCA, detailed the reasons why they were convicted under the stringent act.</p>.<p>The Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) is a special law for prevention and control of criminal activity by organised crime syndicates or gangs.</p>.<p>According to the prosecution, Ravi Kapoor shot at Vishwanathan from a country-made pistol on September 30, 2008 on Nelson Mandela Marg in south Delhi while chasing the victim's car with a design to rob her. Amit Shukla, Ajay Kumar and Baljeet Malik were also with Kapoor at the time of the incident.</p>.Soumya Vishwanathan murder case: Chronology of events.<p>Police recovered the car used in the murder from the fifth accused, Ajay Sethi alias Chacha.</p>.<p>Additional Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Pandey said the prosecution had duly proved that numerous FIRs across different police stations were registered against all the accused from 2002 till their arrest in 2009.</p>.<p>"It is noteworthy that the involvement of the accused persons in the offence committed in the present case came into the knowledge of the investigating agency only after their arrest in FIR No. 69/2009 in the Vasant Vihar police station (the murder case of IT executive Jigisha Ghosh) and due to the same reason, when their criminal background was checked during the investigation, the proposal was moved to invoke the provisions of the MCOCA against them," the court said.</p>.<p>It said the testimony of the then assistant commissioner of police, Mohammed Ali, proved that Kapoor was leading the organised crime syndicate and that there were multiple criminal cases against him and the other accused.</p>.<p>Taking note of the statement of a witness, the court said, "The prosecution has duly proved that those criminal cases having involvement of these accused persons of the crime syndicate were either committed jointly by the accused persons with the accused Ravi Kapoor or by separately with the accused Ravi Kapoor." There was no material contradiction regarding Kapoor running an 'organised crime syndicate' with the assistance of the other accused, it added.</p>.<p>The court said the prosecution had duly proved that the accused were dependent for their livelihood on the proceeds of the crime committed by the syndicate and they did not provide any evidence to show that they had any other pecuniary source for their livelihood.</p>.<p>So a presumption was drawn under the provisions of the MCOCA that the monetary resources of the accused were acquired or derived from the illegal activities of the organised crime syndicate, it said.</p>.<p>The court underlined that the approval and sanction under the MCOCA met all legal requirements in accordance with the Act as well as judicial precedents. </p>
<p>New Delhi: A Delhi court that on Wednesday convicted four men of the murder of television journalist Soumya Vishwanathan during committing an organised crime and a fifth accused for receiving the proceeds of the crime under the MCOCA, detailed the reasons why they were convicted under the stringent act.</p>.<p>The Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) is a special law for prevention and control of criminal activity by organised crime syndicates or gangs.</p>.<p>According to the prosecution, Ravi Kapoor shot at Vishwanathan from a country-made pistol on September 30, 2008 on Nelson Mandela Marg in south Delhi while chasing the victim's car with a design to rob her. Amit Shukla, Ajay Kumar and Baljeet Malik were also with Kapoor at the time of the incident.</p>.Soumya Vishwanathan murder case: Chronology of events.<p>Police recovered the car used in the murder from the fifth accused, Ajay Sethi alias Chacha.</p>.<p>Additional Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Pandey said the prosecution had duly proved that numerous FIRs across different police stations were registered against all the accused from 2002 till their arrest in 2009.</p>.<p>"It is noteworthy that the involvement of the accused persons in the offence committed in the present case came into the knowledge of the investigating agency only after their arrest in FIR No. 69/2009 in the Vasant Vihar police station (the murder case of IT executive Jigisha Ghosh) and due to the same reason, when their criminal background was checked during the investigation, the proposal was moved to invoke the provisions of the MCOCA against them," the court said.</p>.<p>It said the testimony of the then assistant commissioner of police, Mohammed Ali, proved that Kapoor was leading the organised crime syndicate and that there were multiple criminal cases against him and the other accused.</p>.<p>Taking note of the statement of a witness, the court said, "The prosecution has duly proved that those criminal cases having involvement of these accused persons of the crime syndicate were either committed jointly by the accused persons with the accused Ravi Kapoor or by separately with the accused Ravi Kapoor." There was no material contradiction regarding Kapoor running an 'organised crime syndicate' with the assistance of the other accused, it added.</p>.<p>The court said the prosecution had duly proved that the accused were dependent for their livelihood on the proceeds of the crime committed by the syndicate and they did not provide any evidence to show that they had any other pecuniary source for their livelihood.</p>.<p>So a presumption was drawn under the provisions of the MCOCA that the monetary resources of the accused were acquired or derived from the illegal activities of the organised crime syndicate, it said.</p>.<p>The court underlined that the approval and sanction under the MCOCA met all legal requirements in accordance with the Act as well as judicial precedents. </p>