Unequivocally, daring, focused. These are just a few of the adjectives you will experience if you read about Nilam Katara, the now 73-year-old retired school teacher, who fought a long battle to secure justice for the murder of her son, Nitish, a 24-year-old business manager. Nitish was killed in 2002 by his girlfriend Bharti’s brother Vikas Yadav, Cousin Vishal Yadav and a contract killer, Sukhdev Pehalwan. The trial court and the Supreme Court called it an honor. The Yadavs did not reject Bharti’s relationship with a man from their cabinets or socio-economic status. “It was their patriarchal mindset. They thought, “How dare our sister think of getting married without our consent”? ” Nilam says. The night of February 16, 2002, Nitish left the house to Ghaziabad to attend the wedding of a friend with Bharti Yadav. He never returned home. “He was very special to inform me when he got late,” Nilam says. When none of his friends could give her a satisfying answer, she went to the Kavi Nagar police station in Ghaziabad to submit a report from a missing person. Two days later she got a call. They found a body. The face was burned above recognition. But when she put her palm on his hand, she knew it was her son. She recognizes its shape and size, not much larger than her own. SAMAJWADI -PARTY The obstacles were there from the beginning. Bharti is the daughter of Uttar Pradesh politician/Don, DP Yadav who is associated with the Samawadi party of Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Bahujan Samaj party of Mayawati and the BJP. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2015 for murder by a CBI court and was acquitted and released by the Uttarakhand High Court in 2021. According to the website Association of Democratic Reform, there are 15 other criminal cases pending against him. Nilam knew what she was facing to tackle a mighty family, and insisted that her son’s body be brought back to Delhi, rather than staying in Ghaziabad, where the Yadavs produced excessive influence. The DNA sample was only sent to Hyderabad. Within a day, she says, the lab went in charge with leave, allegedly after a threat. The sample was then sent to Kolkata and confirmed that it belonged to Nitish Qatara. The Bharti legal battle, meanwhile, was struck to London and was not available for questioning the court for the next three years. Despite repeated court numbers, there was always a reason why she couldn’t come; She was bad, she had an exam, she had a fall. Nilam went to court in her private capacity to insist that Bharti be brought back as an important witness. Bharti began the court that she and Nitish were just friends. But the maps and letters they exchanged, she admitted that there was something special between them. Eventually, in 2008, six years after he killed him, Vikas, Vishal and Sukhdev Pehelwan were sentenced to life imprisonment. In 2016, the Supreme Court confirmed the Supreme Court’s sentence of life imprisonment by 25 years without remission. Vikas Yadav in 2016, but the legal battle was not over. Vikas submitted a review of a review against the Supreme Court. It was rejected in 2017. Then, in April this year, the Supreme Court of Vikas Yadav granted temporary bail to pay attention to his mother who underwent a spine operation. In July it was extended by another four weeks and he still remains out of jail. A previous application by Vikas for parole was rejected by the authorities of the Tihar jail on the grounds that his behavior in prison did not deserve it. Court records indicate that he did more than 100 hospital visits during his 23-year imprisonment, including a 25-day accommodation at the All India Institute for Medical Sciences, during which his telephone signal was found to his family farm in Vasant Kunj. With even his extensive bail coming to an end, Vikas told the court that he wanted to get married and that his wedding was set for September 5. He also needs time to raise money for the £ 54 lakh that is part of his sentence, he says. The next date for trial was set on September 2. The price of Justice Nilam Katara after the verdict. “I would never think that justice would be so difficult,” Nilam says. “Once they were arrested, I thought it was it. They will be punished. ‘ Over the years, Nilam Katara has become somewhat of a beacon for whom people turn to advice on honors or dowry deaths. She tells them two things. The first: “No matter how strong a person can be, justice will catch up. It can take time. You will have to go through the process. There were so many hearings. It took a lot of money, but I never gave up.” The second: You have to show up. “Nobody’s going to do it for you,” she says. Despite a full -time job, she tried to be present for each trial. Sometimes she would take leave, but the case would be adjourned. She warns: ‘They will try to intimidate you. Threating you. It doesn’t matter. You have to be there. You have to put your neck on the line even if they are powerful. ‘ Nilam happily counts herself for the tremendous support she received. At one time, she remembers, an army woman just came up to embrace her for battles. Another stranger asked her details about the matter that he had followed at home in Africa. “I never felt alone, there was always so much support. And the media, of course, followed up very thoroughly. ‘ Above all, she says, she never lost confidence in justice. Now for the first time in more than two decades, she is less certain. “I’m shaky,” she admits. “Justice can be derailed at any time.”
Mind the Gap: Unwakeable: Nilam Katara’s struggle for justice
