Katara murder case: For 13 years, she waged a lonely battle

“Reform needs to take place in electoral politics. Politicians, accused of certain crimes, need to be stopped from contesting elections. Currently, an MP or an MLA is deemed innocent until proven guilty. But for the common man, fighting such a person is almost impossible,” she said.

Her life changed forever on February 17, 2002, when Nitish didn’t return home. Three days later, his body was found by police, battered and burnt. Her husband Nishit died due to a motor neuron disease later. The grieving mother was left to fight the battle for her son’s justice alone. “Your life changes drastically. I lost my son and then my husband. Fighting for justice in a case like this requires one to sacrifice everything — career, health and finance,” she said.

On Thursday, the Delhi High Court enhanced the sentence for Vishal and Vikas Yadav from life imprisonment to 25 years without remission and five more years for destruction of evidence. Neelam said, “I haven’t read the order yet. But I do think the case warranted the death penalty. I will appeal to the SC, unless there’s something in the order that makes me change my mind.”

Years ago, when Neelam, a former Kendriya Vidyalaya deputy commissioner, first entered the court, she knew little about judiciary. But despite being warned about the difficulty in getting the two accused — son and nephew of D P Yadav, a politician from Western Uttar Pradesh — convicted, she never gave up. At the time the murder was committed, Yadav was a member of the Rajya Sabha.

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On Thursday, Neelam was still the very picture of stoic determination.

“I hope my fight highlights the need for electoral and political reforms. Someone in power has the required resources to subvert justice. It makes the fight of a common man so much harder and the case stretches on,” she said.