I want justice for my friend, Soumya Vishwanathan
Back then, I was working as a print journalist in the sleepy city of Chandigarh. At dawn, I received a phone call from a friend with whom I’d done my Masters in Mass Communication. She now worked as a reporter with a news channel, CNN IBN. With eyes half closed, I attended the call, completely unprepared for what I was to hear. This was the year 2008, the month of September.
In the call, I learnt that my ex-classmate from school, neighbour, tuition partner for the dreaded accounting class and a fellow journalist, Soumya Vishwanathan, had been shot dead. She was driving back home after her work shift got over (at 3am) at Headlines Today.
My Masters’ friend had been asked to reach the spot and do her “job”. As she tried to hide the quiver in her voice over the phone, she knew she’d done the right thing by making sure the news reached me via a personal phone call and not a breaking news headline on a channel.
Six years have passed since that ugly sunrise woke me up to that horrific news.
Soumya continues to live in my heart. In the memories of the chutney-wrapped dosas she used to get in her tiffin box, which we would end up consuming before the morning assembly. In the little pieces of paper, she and I used to exchange during our tuition classes in Vasant Kunj. In the trip, she and I took together to Chennai, to appear for an interview at the Asian College of Journalism. In the cakes we cut together as fellow Sagittarians.
She continues to be a part of our lives, us school friends. For a while, a few of her friends continued to “speak” to her on her Facebook wall, many even attended a prayer meet held for her at our school, Carmel Convent and a handful still utter a little prayer for her, every now and then.
But, we fail to hide our anger and pain.
Each time, I drive towards my home on Nelson Mandela Road (the road she too used to reach home and where she was, in fact, shot dead), my hands shiver and my eyes get moist. I am reminded of the words of the then Delhi chief minister, Sheila Dikshit, "All by herself at 3am at night in a city where people believe...you know...you should not be so adventurous.'' But today, in the summer of 2015, I don’t want to debate on the ex CM’s remark or on the employer protection for women workers and more. For the truth is: not much has changed.
Today, I want to tell you that the fight is still on, the anger within us continues to simmer.
Soumya’s parents are still fighting for justice. The legal case has been stalled because the public prosecutor in the case resigned last year. Eight months later, the Delhi government is yet to find his replacement. They were promised a speedy trial and yet a simple technicality is holding back justice for Soumya.
Her parents have not given up and neither have we. They have started a petition asking Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Delhi government to appoint a public prosecutor and fast track the case.
Can you spare a minute and get us the 50,000 signatures we need? If yes, here’s the link.
The men accused of killing Soumya have been accused in several other cases too. They are being tried for the murder of another young woman, Jigisha Ghosh. Her family is also suffering and they too want justice for their only daughter.
Can you help bring peace to the grieving parents of these daughters?