J Dey murder case: Bombay HC upholds acquittal of former journalist

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, August 27

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday upheld last year’s acquittal of former journalist Jigna Vora in the murder case of journalist J Dey.  

Bombay High Court judges Justices BP Dharmadhikari and SK Shinde ruled that the Central Bureau of Investigation, which probed the murder of senior journalist Jyotirmoy Dey, did not provide any direct evidence linking Vora to the June 2011 murder.

A lower court had convicted gangster Chhota Rajan and eight others for the murder, but acquitted Vora and another accused, Paulson Joseph.

Challenging the acquittal, CBI claimed that Vora had instigated Rajan against Dey due to professional rivalry.
Both Dey and Vora were crime reporters and were reported to be regularly in touch with Rajan for stories.

Dey, 56, was shot dead on June 11, 2011, in suburban Powai.

The high court judges observed on Tuesday that phone calls made to Rajan by Vora did not establish that the killing was carried at her behest.

In off-the-record briefings to local journalists CBI officials had claimed that Vora had provided photographs of the journalist, his motorcycle’s registration number, etc. to Rajan. However, no conclusive evidence of the same was produced before the courts.

Vora has since quit journalism.