Jessica, Mattoo, now Nitish: It's a hat-trick for justice

NEW DELHI: Once again, attempts by the rich and powerful to manipulate the system and subvert the law have come to naught. On Wednesday, additional sessions judge Ravinder Kaur held Vikas Yadav, son of politician D P Yadav, and his cousin, Vishal Yadav, guilty of murdering Nitish Katara in February 2002 for daring to have a relationship with Vikas's sister, Bharti. The verdict vindicates the Supreme Court's decision in 2002 to shift the trial from Ghaziabad to Delhi at the instance of Nitish's mother, Neelam Katara, who had alleged that D P Yadav intimidated witnesses in his area of influence. This was the last of the three high-profile murder cases which had come to symbolize the fight for asserting the rule of law. Justice had earlier been done in the Jessica Lall and Priyadarshini Mattoo cases with Delhi high court reversing the acquittals of Manu Sharma and Vikas Yadav, among others, and Santosh Singh, respectively. "My faith in the judiciary has been strengthened with the verdict. I believe this will ensure that no other son of any mother has to meet such a fate," said an emotional Neelam Katara after the verdict. On the other hand, a distraught D P Yadav, conspicuous by his absence in court on Wednesday, alleged the verdict came under media pressure and vowed to appeal in HC. "Injustice has been done to our innocent children... we will approach the high court to get justice," he said. Since there were actually no eyewitnesses to Nitish's murder, the case hinged on circumstantial evidence, particularly the testimony of Ajay Katara, who completed the chain of circumstances by deposing, despite heavy pressure, that he had seen Nitish in the company of the accused shortly before the murder. The trial had dragged on because of the dilatory tactics adopted by Bharti.
29 May 2008, 0218 hrs IST, Abhinav Garg,TNN
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