KATARA KILLER’S trail of terror
Thursday, May 29, 2008
The verdict in Nitish Katara case once again showed that justice delayed may not be a case of justice denied. While UP strongman D P Yadav claimed his son was innocent, and this was a political conspiracy, Vikas Yadav has always been a menacing presence in court and has a history of criminal cases
No remorse, not a hair out of place and always walking with a swagger. Vikas Yadav, who was convicted on Wednesday for killing Nitish Katara, has a criminal past and a menacing presence. Born in a feudal set-up and always used to having his way, his court appearances have always made news with indulgent policemen looking the other way when he lunged at reporters or snarled at them.
From being held guilty for aiding the main killer and destroying evidence in the Jessica Lall murder case to assaulting journalists or verbally threatening them, Vikas has during both the Jessica and Katara hearings sent out a clear and strong message: Don’t mess with me.
In fact, Nitish Katara’s murder was particularly brutal. He was first forcibly taken away from a marriage party by Vikas and his brother Vishal, who then smashed his head with a hammer and then poured diesel on his body. The charred remains were found in Khurja, three days after the crime.
The Yadav family’s aversion to the media was visible in November 2006 when Bharti Yadav took refuge behind a ‘burqa’ to escape reporters. Draped in a shawl, Vikas was being hurriedly led away by the police at the Patiala House court complex to the jail van when he got agitated as photographers started clicking and followed him from a distance. Suddenly, his hand shot out from the shawl and slapped a cameraman who happened to be within striking distance. Before the benumbed journalist or the cops guarding Vikas could react, he managed to hit two more slaps.
The attack came close on the heels of a run-in the media had with D P Yadav’s ‘‘security guards’’ at his Ghaziabad residence when they tried to enquire about Bharti Yadav. In fact during the two day in-camera deposition of Bharti, Yadav’s henchmen loitered around in the court complex, ever willing to pick up a quarrel with journalists who were shoved and kicked when they tried to click Bharti.
Now 35, Vikas shot to infamy more than 17 years ago. In 1991, he was charged with shooting and killing one Devendra Singh near his home in Ghaziabad. At the time, D P Yadav was with the Samajwadi Party and a minister in the cabinet of Mulayam Singh Yadav. Not surprisingly, in 1996, the state government ordered the police to withdraw the case.
Three years later, his involvement in the sensational Jessica Lall murder came to light. And while on bail, he murdered Nitish, a fact which ensured that even the Supreme Court refused him bail since his arrest in Katara case in 2002.
Posted by Gaurav Shukla 8:32 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Nitish Katara Case
Jessica, Mattoo, now Nitish: It’s a hat-trick for justice
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.
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
THE MURDER
Vikas Yadav, with two accomplices, abducted and killed Nitish Katara in 2002 for having an affair with his sister, Bharti. Murder weapon and Katara's wristwatch recovered after his arrest
JUSTICE DONE
Caught in a dilemma, Bharti Yadav sought to play down her relations with Katara but court relied on an album comprising Valentine’s Day cards and love letters, and phone-call records to sense love and intended marriage
Vikas kept away from his sister's deposition and the court found him to be ‘‘lacking in courage to face her for his misdeeds”
The judge found witness Ajay Katara caught in a battle between his fear and conscience and eventually doing the right thing
THE PEOPLE
Nitish Katara | Fell foul of Vikas, brother of Bharti Yadav, with whom he had a relationship and had to pay with his life
Bharti Yadav | The ‘‘motive” for murder. Left country but forced to return in 2006 and depose. Admitted being ‘‘very close” to Nitish, denied her family knew it
Neelam Katara | Nitish’s mother, who despite all odds and delaying tactics by the Yadav camp, ensured her son's killers were convicted
Vikas Yadav | Son of UP strongman D P Yadav. Also convicted for his role in Jessica Lall murder. Aggressive, arrogant and remorseless
Court praises witness Ajay for staying course
A city court on Wednesday held Vikas Yadav and his cousin Vishal guilty of murdering Nitish Katara in 2002. Their sister Bharti had been packed off to London shortly after the murder and had delayed her return to India till as late as November 2006 despite the court’s repeated directions to give her testimony.
‘‘I hold Vikas Yadav and Vishal Yadav guilty under Sections 302 (murder), 364 (kidnapping), 201 (destruction of evidence) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC,’’ Kaur pronounced, despite last-minute attempts by the defence to seek a stay from a higher court on the trial verdict on account of a recent sting operation aimed at discrediting Ajay’s testimony.
On May 30, the court is set to hear arguments on the quantum of sentence — life or death. The prosecution is expected to press for capital punishment because of the sheer brutality of the murder.
The prosecution succeeded in establishing the chain of circumstances linking Vikas and Vishal to the killing through the testimony of Ajay and also establishing the motive for the murder, that is their hostility to Nitish’s love affair with Bharti.
Disapproving Bharti’s efforts to shield her brother, the judge said, ‘‘I feel that by her such conduct (disowning police statement), she didn’t do justice to the soul of Nitish without whom she had claimed she couldn’t survive.’’ Discounting her claim that her family was unaware of her closeness to Nitish, the court drew inferences from an assortment of greeting cards (including a Valentine Day album), call records showing extensive calls between Nitish and Bharti and a shared bank account. ‘‘These documents are self-explanatory that the relationship between the two wasn’t mere friendship but had blossomed into a love affair and they intended to marry,’’ Kaur said in her comprehensive judgment which runs into more than 1000 pages.
Vikas’ refusal to face Bharti inside the courtroom when her in-camera deposition was recorded convinced the judge that he ‘‘knew of the relationship and had no courage to face Bharti for his misdeeds.’’
The trial court applauded Ajay for not turning hostile despite the pressure and attacks on his reputation through the sting operation. ‘‘His conscience pricked him on finding their involvement in a crime of this nature.’’ On the night they abducted Nitish from a Ghaziabad wedding, the accused had run into Ajay near Hapur chungi on the outskirts of Ghaziabad while he was repairing his scooter. He testified in court that he saw a scared Nitish being held captive inside the car even as Vikas and Vishal hurled abuses at Ajay, asking him to move his scooter out of their way.
The presence of both brothers at the marriage venue, Diamond Palace in Ghaziabad, on February 16 was attested to by two UP constables who saw an altercation between Vikas and Nitish and the latter being whisked away by the accused in a Tata Safari. Though the cops turned hostile later, the court held that the convict’s presence at the venue and their fight with Nitish was established beyond doubt.
The other circumstances which nailed the convicts were their absconding after the murder; recovery of the hammer used to smash Nitish’s head, his wristwatch and the Tata Safari at their instance from Khurja village; their contradictory statements in court; and attempt to stall Bharti’s return to India.
The convicts had on Tuesday moved the high court for recalling witnesses, including Ajay, whose testimony on the last-seen evidence was crucial for the prosecution case, following a sting operation CD purportedly showing collusion between him and Neelam, the victim’s mother. The ASJ, however, went ahead with the pronouncement of judgment after the counsel for accused said that there was no stay on the trial court’s proceedings by the HC.
Vikas, sporting a tilak and wearing a pair of blue jeans and a white shirt, seemed unfazed. Vishal, in contrast, was uncomfortable. He was arrested and told to accompany his cousin, Vikas, to the lockup, from where he had been released in October 2005 after getting bail. The day’s proceedings began at 10.15am amid tight security. Sukhdev Pehelwan, the third accused, is being tried separately as he was arrested in 2005 only.
Posted by Gaurav Shukla 8:30 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Nitish Katara Case
Justice at last for daughter's killer? A father hopes
Friday, April 25, 2008
Nine years after his daughter was allegedly brutally killed by her cousin in the US, justice finally seems close at hand. The Delhi High Court has just finished hearing the case and a grieving Mangi L. Agarwal is hoping that his nephew will be extradited to the US to face retribution.
"At least I have a ray of hope that the killer of my daughter Deepa will be punished," Agarwal told IANS, as the Delhi High Court Tuesday reserved its order on the extradition of the Indian American.
While it is not yet clear which way the verdict will go, Agarwal is optimistic that Kamlesh Agarwal will sent back to the US for the 1999 murder of Deepa Agarwal in Orlando, Florida. He had fled to India the year after and has been here since.
A division bench headed by Justice Vikramjit Sen, while reserving the order in the eight-year-old extradition case, also pulled up the ministry of external affairs (MEA) for not submitting the case file of the trial court for its reference.
"We have asked you to submit the file on the said date, since you (ministry) have not abided by it, thereby I ordered them to send an apology letter along with the reason for not bringing the case records to the court," said Justice Sen.
His observations came six years after the trial court in Delhi allowed Kamlesh to be extradited and he challenged the ruling.
The wheels of justice have moved slowly since the July 11, 1999, murder of Deepa Agarwal in Orlando. She was just 20 and was studying in the University of Central Florida.
Her decomposed body was found "sealed" in a cardboard carton inside the bedroom closet nine days after the murder. The autopsy report confirmed the cause of death as fracture of the spine from a blow by a blunt instrument. Several knife wounds were reportedly spotted on the body, suggesting a "violent altercation" before death.
The suspicion fell on Kamlesh, then 22 years old and studying computer science in the same university.
During the investigation, a neighbour told the police that on the fateful night she heard the sound of a woman screaming from Deepa's apartments. This was followed by "thumps" - as if "something was being shoved against the wall".
But before investigators could nab Kamlesh, he made his getaway from the US on July 12, 2000, leaving his studies midway.
Two days later, police in India, acting on an Interpol alert, arrested him from a hotel in Mumbai where he was staying under the false name of Pankaj Saraf.
A month later, a grand jury in the US charged Kamlesh with "first-degree murder" and ordered that he stand for trial.
In September 2000, the state of Florida forwarded an extradition request to India.
In October 2002, an inquiry report by the additional chief metropolitan magistrate's court here recommended Kamlesh's extradition, citing "prima facie" evidence of murder against him.
As he waits for the law to close in on Kamlesh, Agarwal remembers Deepa: "My daughter was a very bright student and was about to complete her PhD from the University of Central Florida. I don't know what went wrong between her and Kamlesh and he killed her."
Indo-Asian News Service
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Labels: justice delayed
With 1.1 mn pending cases, Punjab and Haryana court moves for speedier trials
Monday, April 21, 2008
With the number of pending cases swelling to more than 1.1 million, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has decided to have speedier trials to dispose of long-pending ones.
As a first step, the high court wants cases over 20 years old disposed of. "Cases which were over 20 years old have been disposed of already. We have put the pending cases in categories of 20 years, 10 years and five years respectively," Chief Justice Vijender Jain said.
The court is now targeting over 1,700 cases that have been pending for over 10 years. Punjab accounts for over 1,000 such cases followed by 400 of Haryana and 300 of the union territory of Chandigarh.
"Cases beyond 10 years old that are lying before various courts will be disposed of on priority by Dec 31 this year. Of the cases pending for over five years, 35 percent have been disposed of. However, the quality of justice should not be compromised while speedily disposing of cases," Jain said.
The high court's message for speedy disposal of long-pending cases was communicated to judicial officials from Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh at their first-ever conclave held at Panchkula near here Sunday.
The chief justice has acknowledged that over 561,000 cases were pending in various courts across Punjab and 549,000 in Haryana.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court, situated in this joint capital of the two states, is perhaps the only unique joint high court of two states in the country. The court's strength of judges has been increased to 68 now from 53.
Haryana has been demanding a separate high court, which the Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led government is pursuing with the central government more effectively. But the central government has so far turned down the demand, saying the present arrangement could continue.
One of the reasons for the rejection could be that despite demanding a separate high court, the Haryana government wants it to be headquartered in Chandigarh instead of in a more central location in Haryana. Chandigarh is located in one corner of Haryana and most litigants find it difficult to come here every time for case hearings.
Haryana became the first state in the country last year to have a mobile court. It was set up in a remote area of Mewat district in the southern part of the state. Punjab followed, setting up the country's second mobile court in Hoshiarpur district's Talwara area a few months later.
The mobile courts have been effective in both the states, Justice Jain said.
"About 1,100 cases were disposed of in Haryana since the mobile court was set up there. In Punjab, the total disposal of cases is almost the same, despite being started two months later," he pointed out.
Indo-Asian News Service
Posted by Gaurav Shukla 8:48 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: justice after 13 years, jutice delayed
