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His name was Nitish Katara.
He was 25 years old. MBA from IMT Ghaziabad. Job at Reliance General Insurance. A regular young man building his life in Delhi.
At college, he fell in love with Bharti Yadav. Her father was D.P. Yadav. Sitting Member of Parliament. One of the most powerful politicians in UP.
They were together for four years. Her family knew. Her brother Vikas knew. Her cousin Vishal knew.
Nitish received threats. He did not leave.
On the night of February 16, 2002, he attended a friend's wedding in Ghaziabad. Bharti was there. Vikas was there. Vishal was there.
They danced. They took photographs.
At midnight, security guards saw Nitish get into a Tata Safari with Vikas, Vishal, and one more man.
He never came back.
The next morning, a burnt body was found 80 km away near Khurja. Beaten with a hammer. Diesel poured on him. Set on fire.
His mother Nilam identified the body by his hand. Nitish had unusually small hands just like hers.
Then the system turned against her.
Witnesses changed their statements one by one. Three out of four turned hostile. Even Bharti went to court and said there was no relationship. Just friendship.
One witness refused to budge. His name was Ajay Katara. No relation. Just a man who had seen Nitish get into that car that night and could not lie about it.
Vikas Yadav banged his fist on the courtroom table and told him he would be buried 100 feet underground.
Ajay did not change his statement.
For the next 20 years, he lived under 24-hour armed guard. 37 cases filed against him. Bullet attempts. Poison attempts. His life never recovered.
Nilam Katara had no political connections. No money like the Yadavs. Just one question that she refused to stop asking.
In 2008, the court convicted Vikas, Vishal, and Sukhdev. The Supreme Court confirmed 25 years without remission.
Vikas has now served 23 years. He recently got married from jail. He applied for furlough to spend time with his wife. The Supreme Court granted it for Holi this year.
Nilam Katara is still fighting.
Her son got justice. The men who killed him are counting their last months in prison. But the witness who made that possible lost everything for telling the truth.
In India, power does not just delay justice. It destroys everyone who stands in its way.
But a mother refused to let it disappear.
