A mother in its truest sense - Neelam Katara

Read about Nitish Katara case verdict. The Supreme Court has awarded 25-year jail term to Vishal Yadav and a 20-year term to Sukhdev Pehalwan.

More than for Nitish’s soul, I am happy for his mother Neelam. 14 years is a long ordeal to fight for justice. Gruesome. First, the pain of losing her son and seeing his badly burnt body recognizable only by his wrist watch would have been insurmountable. Then to run from pillar to post to fight against those having power and money by their stride was like digging your own graveyard. And with witnesses turning hostile, Bharti Yadav changing her statement and Neelam Ji not knowing when she might get killed…. I shudder even while writing this.

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. In 2002, Vikas and Vishal Yadav abducted Nitish from a wedding function in Ghaziabad late at night. They allegedly disapproved of Nitish's intimacy with their sister Bharti. After kidnapping, they doused the victim’s body with diesel and set him ablaze.

Life for women in India is anyways not easy. Accept it or not, as much as we may stand tall on Gender Equality, the reality is a far cry from all the sermons. Women are made to swallow the bitter pill generally. And filing and fighting a legal case involves indefinite time and bundles of green notes. We all know how sluggish our Indian judiciary system is. It takes decade to seek justice. Doomsayers would have told Neelam Ji ,” Kuch nahi hone wala Madam is case mein.” But she still persisted.  In a rare display of fortitude and strength, Neelam Ji vowed to bring the culprits to book.

But as if fate was tempting her to evaluate her mettle, she lost her husband a few years after Nitish’s death. “The shock came when the then BJP government gave D P Yadav a Rajya Sabha ticket in 2004. That was a frightening time,” says Neelam. But this brave woman a picture of dignity, quiet resoluteness, and determination took the Yadavs head on. Public support gave her courage. “The media picked up the issue and the BJP distanced themselves from him. That was the first time I thought I’m not alone, I can do this,” she said

I was inquisitive to know about the epicenter of this whole story -  Bharti Yadav. The problem got exacerbated because she fled to UK. Her statement would have turned the tide. So I googled about her and came to know this. 

Neelam Ji had said, "The night Nitish disappeared, Bharti called, pleading me to go to the police, adding that maybe her brothers — Vikas and Vishal — had taken Nitish to Punjab. I went to the police. There was no trace of Nitish — and there never would be. Never."

After three years of unheeded notices and summonses, Bharti Yadav returned to India from UK after the court threatened to declare her as a proclaimed offender. While in court, Bharti repeatedly denied that she was in a relationship with Nitish. Contrary to all expectations she 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?

I, for once, thought,”What kind of a woman is she? Her brothers killed her lover and his mother is fighting for justice and she is absconding?” But only the one who suffers knows the plight best. It is easy for others to point fingers but I am sure she is going to die a thousand deaths perhaps, remembering, recounting days with Nitish, his mother’s lone fight, and her stance which did nothing to appease anyone, neither her conscience nor her spirit.

I hope Neelam Ji can sleep in peace now.  Having lost her elder son and Husband during

this long fight, the end must have bought her some reprieve. She inspires me and a million more like me to fight our own battles with courage.

मंजिल उन्ही को मिलती है

जिनके सपनो में जान होती है

पंख  से कुछ नहीं होता

हौसलों से उड़ान होती है

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 Swati