Former TV producer Suhaib Ilyasi convicted for wife's murder

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Saturday convicted famed television news producer and host of crime TV show 'India's Most wanted' Suhaib Ilyasi in connection with the death of his wife, Anju.

The order was passed by additional sessions Judge SK Malhotra, who pronounced Ilyasi guilty of murder under the Indian Penal Code.

He faces a minimum punishment of life imprisonment and the maximum of death penalty in the case.

Ilyasi's counsel advocate Manu Sharma said that the court would hear the arguments on the quantum of sentence to be awarded to the convict on December 20.

Lawyer Satender Sharma, who appeared on behalf of key witness and Anju's mother Rukma Singh, said the Delhi High Court had in August 2014 ruled that Ilyasi would face the charge of murder for the death of his wife.

He was earlier charged with comparatively milder sections including 304 B (dowry death) of the IPC.

Ilyasi was initially arrested in March 2000 for harassing his wife for dowry that led to her death, a charge that he had strongly denied at that time.

The couple had met in Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi in November 1989, where they were studying at the Mass Communication Research Centre. They tied the knot in 1993 in London under the Special Marriage Act. However, the marriage turned sour and disputes among the couple led to a strained relationship.

IIyasi rose to prominence in the late 90s with 'India's Most Wanted', which aired programmes on crime and criminals in the country.

His show had gained prominence for its presentation and informative content, and had even led to the arrest of several criminals.

Ilyasi's fame reportedly resulted in him getting death threats from the underworld, leading to two police constables being assigned for his protection at his residence.

On January 10, 2000, around 11.15 pm, Ilyasi called the constables and told them that Anju had stabbed herself and asked them to call an ambulance.

The cops found Anju lying in a pool of blood, with fatal stab wounds all over her body.

Anju was taken to a nearby nursing home and later to AIIMS, where she was declared dead on arrival due to stab wounds. The autopsy report was unable to establish whether Anju had stabbed herself or was murdered.

However, a few months after her death, Anju's mother and sister told the sub divisional magistrate inquiring into the suicide that she had been driven to suicide by Ilyasi over dowry. He was arrested in March 2000.

Years later, Anju's mother demanded that Ilyasi be tried for murder. The trial court rejected this demand, but in 2014, the Delhi High Court ordered an east Delhi court to try Ilyasi for murder.