More than seven years after veteran journalist J. Dey was shot dead by motorcycle-borne men near his residence, a special court brought justice to the family of the deceased.
As soon as special judge S.S. Adkar pronounced that Dey’s colleague and journalist Jigna Vora, accused of giving Dey’s photos, address and details of movement to gangster Chhota Rajan, was acquitted of all charges, she broke down inside the courtroom.
However, when Rajan, who was deposing before the court through video-conferencing as he is currently lodged in Tihar Jail, was informed by the judge that he has been convicted, he had a straight face and said, “ theek hain.” Rajan did not say anything or show any expression even when he was told that he has been given life imprisonment.
The courtroom was filled with journalists, some of whom were colleagues of Dey, and had come to be a part of the hearing.
The corridor outside the courtroom was full of police officials. The judge announced the conviction in the first half and thereafter heard the final arguments on the quantum of sentence by defence counsel and the special public prosecutor. All those convicted were awarded life sentence in the evening.
Grief-stricken family
Deepak Sisodia’s wife and son were standing anxiously outside the courtroom since 11 a.m. and did not move an inch till 6 p.m. Sisodia is convicted for giving 25 bullets to Satish Kalya, the shooter at the behest of Rajan. His wife was inconsolable right from the time the news of her husband’s conviction was broken to her. Her son looked tense and kept inquiring about the sentence from journalists. Family members of those convicted were also distraught and grief- stricken.
The entrance of the court was crowded with a line-up of video cameras from different news channels waiting to talk to the prosecutor in the case. The other entrance was flocked by photojournalists waiting to get a click of those acquitted.
