Guilty Verdict in High-Profile Delhi Murder Case
29th May 2008
A court in Delhi has found Vikas Yadav guilty in a high-profile murder case. Yadav, who is the son of the influential Uttar Pradesh politician DP Yadav, was found guilty of abducting and killing Nitish Katara after a wedding six years ago. It is believed that Vikas killed Nitish because he was against the victim’s relationship with his sister, Bharti Yadam. In the trial, Vikas's cousin, Vishal Yadav, was also found guilty of the murder.
The Yadavs' lawyers said that they would appeal against the decision, arguing that the entire judgement was based on purely circumstantial evidence. However, Nitish's mother, Neelam Katara, praised the court verdict after the hearing. She said: “Justice has been done. I am happy with the justice. This verdict will be a milestone.”
Nitish Katara was a management student who went missing from a wedding in February 2002. The Yadavs were arrested a couple months after Nitish’s badly charred body was found.
During the trial, the prosecution told the court that Vikas and Vishal Yadav killed Nitish because they did not approve of his relationship with Vikas's sister Bharti. Bharti Yadav, who apparently dated Nitish for four years, was listed as the trial’s prime witness by the prosecution. Bharti’s family sent her to London immediately after the murder, but she returned to Delhi in 2006 to give her side of the story to the court.
This murder case - along with the high-profile murder case of model and socialite Jessica Lal, which Vilkas has also been linked to – has caused public outrage in India and activists have been campaigning extensively to seek justice for the victims.
Indeed, Nitish’s Mother has pursued her son’s case relentlessly over the past six years in the court. Meanwhile, Nitish's friends also fought for justice by using online petitions and a blog.
Source:
BBC