MCOCA invoked against accused in Soumya, Jigisha murders

Delhi police on Wednesday invoked MCOCA against five persons arrested in connection with the murders of two young women professionals Soumya Viswanthan and Jigisha Ghosh in the city.

The provisions of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) were invoked against Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljeet Malik and Vijay Kumar and Ajay Sethi who were arrested in connection with the murders, a senior police official said.

Invoking of MCOCA against the accused will help them in getting confessions made before an officer not below the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) admissible before the courts, the official said.

"The accused will also not get bail for the next six months while an officer not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) will be the Investigating Officer of the case," the official said.

TV news producer Viswanathan was found shot dead in her car on September 30 in south Delhi's Vasant Vihar while Ghosh was kidnapped from a nearby area and murdered on March 18. In both the cases, police claimed robbery was the motive.

Four persons - Kapoor, Shukla, Malik and Kumar - were arrested on March 23 while Sethi was caught on April 5. While the first four persons were 'directly' involved in the murders, Sethi received the car used by the gang to target Viswanathan.