Kaveetaa Kaul
6603 views
Update 30th May 2008: The Yadav brothers have been indicted with a life sentence. A closure for Neelam Kataras legal journey towards justice for her son Nitishs gruesome death? Not really.. for two glaring reasons. First D.P. yadav the politician father has pledged to go to the higher courts for relief. Second, as things stand today a life sentence even though it denotes ‘life’ and not 14 years as was prevalent till a couple of years ago, is actually a euphemism. For the rich and powerful, the sentence once it is in the hands of the State govts can be commuted, lessened and lead to remission on various grounds.
Neelam katara expressed displeasure on the sentence. She was expecting the death penalty not out of a sense of vengeance but if at all deterrence was the raison d’etre of this long battle, then a lifer in this case was a mockery. Nitish was abducted, his private parts mutilated and then he was set afire. This was not categorised as ‘rarest of rare’ case since it was almost dubbed as ‘honor killing’..a crime of passion for the love of a sister. Makes one wonder if we are living in the Middle ages !
The battle has been won but the war is certainly not over as yet for Neelam . Although the guilty have been sentenced, they have not been subjugated, if body language is tell tale .
Bharati yadav has arrived in India from Britain to offer solidarity. Contrary to all expectations she has declared her brothers to be innocent and termed this a political conspiracy against her family. Is this a case of being worldly wise or one where she has been tormented to the degree that her will, life, words are not her own. We will never know. Since it was through a telephone call to the journalist that this message was conveyed, aspersions have been cast on the identity of the caller. Was it in actuality Bharati or someone posing as her? In any case the heroine is Neelam katara..she has won the hearts of millions of Indians …at the cost of losing her son to such a brutal death.
Update 28th May 2008: The verdict is out. The Yadav brothers Vikas and Vishal have been pronounced guilty. Neelam Katara has been vindicated, a satisfied mother, as can possibly be under the circumstances. Bharati has lost all..her family her love and her credibility. This is a landmark judgement. Justice does prevail and is not a hand maiden to the rich and powerful. Despite strong attempts by the Yadavs to escape scott free, persistent and relentless hammerstrokes by the media, citizens and Neelam, law was forced to elongate its steely grip and nail the culprits. Kudos !!
This is the third in the triumvirate of cases the other two being Jessica Lall and Priyadarshini Mattoo where middle class citizens unflinchingly took on the power manic offenders and WON.
Neelam Katara Speaks after Verdict ( video)
Original Post :
It would make a tear jerker for sure were it to be made for the big screen. However, Bharati Yadav is in an unenviable position today.. that of a woman who has had to bear the gruesome murder of her beloved. As if that was not enough, she is the sister of the alleged murderers, as key witness is therefore expected to testify against them.
Nitish Katara. a handsome eligible, proficient young man, made the blunder of falling in love with Bharati Yadav, the daughter of a powerful politician/don from Uttar Pradesh, D.P. Yadav. Her brothers resented the match for reasons as clichéd as every other Bollywood film..class disparity. Love however, pays no heed to such obstacles. Or maybe it is that a couple in love goes through life with blinkers and (more…)
Sachiniti 