RK Sharma guilty of Shivani's murder

NEW DELHI: Nine years after the sensational murder of journalist Shivani Bhatnagar, a Delhi court on Wednesday convicted former IPS officer Ravi Kant Sharma and three others of murder and criminal conspiracy. The quantum of sentence will be pronounced on March 20.

All four of them had been charged under Sections 302 (murder), 120 B (conspiracy), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 403 and 404 (dishonest misappropriation of property) of the IPC.

Shivani, a journalist with The Indian Express, was found murdered at her east Delhi apartment on January 23, 1999.

Earlier, when Shivani went to London, Sharma had made 90 international calls to her.
The court found Sharma, a Director General of Police (Prisons) in Haryana at the time of his arrest, to be the main conspirator in the murder.

The high-flying officer was posted as the officer on special duty (OSD) to former prime minister IK Gujral. Sharma was the Director Vigilance in Air India in Pune when the murder took place.

The three others held guilty are Sri Bhagwan, Satya Prakash and Pradeep Sharma, the contract killer hired by Sharma.

Two others, Ved Prakash and Ved alias Kallu, were acquitted for lack of evidence.