Murder of Nitish Katara
Nitish Katara was a 23-year-old Indian business executive in Delhi who was murdered in the early hours of 17 February 2002 by Vikas Yadav.
The trial court held that Katara's murder was an honour killing because the family did not approve of their relationship.
[5][6] On 9 September 2015, The Supreme Court of India rejected a plea by Neelam Katara seeking enhancement of sentence to death for Vishal and Vikas Yadav.
[7] On 3 October 2016, the Supreme Court sentenced Vikas and Vishal Yadav, as well as Sukhdev Pehelwan, the third accused, to 25 years' imprisonment without remission.
[10] On the night of 16 February 2002, the couple attended a common friend's wedding, where Yadav's brother, Vikas, and a cousin were present as well.
Three days later, Katara's body was found beside the highway; he had been battered to death with a hammer, diesel poured on him, and set aflame.
Dr T D Dogra collected the blood samples of parents for DNA profiling to establish the identity of deceased Nitish Katara at AIIMS New Delhi.
[19] Bharti Yadav, whose testimony was being sought in the trial, moved to London for an extended period shortly after the murder.
[citation needed] Considerable drama and media attention focused on the protracted struggle (over four-and-a-half years) to obtain the testimony of Bharti Yadav.
[28] In August 2006, the Supreme Court, responding to an appeal from Nitish Katara's mother, shifted the trial from Ghaziabad to Delhi because of D. P. Yadav's considerable influence in the area, including its administration and judiciary.
In May 2006, Bharti Yadav's passport was revoked by the Ministry of External Affairs,[30] so that her stay in UK was technically illegal.
[24] On 22 July 2006, an application was moved by Bharti's maternal uncle Bharat Singh (a member of the UP Legislative Council), requesting that she be permitted to testify via video conferencing.
[25] In danger of being declared proclaimed offender, under which circumstance she could have been arrested and deported from London, Bharti finally returned to depose before the court.
[36] On 12 July 2007, two brothers, Manoj and Anuj Sharma, called him to the Mohan Nagar temple saying he could meet his separated wife there to sort out his domestic problems.
[38] In July 2007, one Pawan Kumar Diwan suddenly showed up for the defence, saying that Vikas Yadav had come to his house in Karnal, at 3 am on the night of 16–17 February 2002, for attending a ceremony the following day.
[40] On 30 May 2008 New Delhi fast-track court-sentenced Vikas and Vishal Yadav to life sentences for the kidnap and murder of Nitish Katara.
[43][44] Vikas Yadav was granted bail 66 times in the first two years of his incarceration, often with no clear reason documented.
[45] Nitish Katara's mother accused the jail authorities of colluding with Yadav's influential family and requested a formal investigation.
[4] An appeal by Katara's mother and prosecution seeking death sentence to the convicts, pending before the High Court was to be heard on 25 April 2014.
[48] On 9 October 2015 Supreme Court rejected the appeal filed by the sister of Nitish Katara for death penalty of the Yadav brothers.
On 3 October 2016, the Supreme Court of India sentenced Vishal and Vikas Yadav to 25 years in prison.
However, the Supreme Court allowed their sentences to run concurrently rather than consecutively, meaning the Yadavs would spend 25 years behind bars, rather than 30.
