The Distressing Story Behind Indian Predator 3 Murder In A Courtroom

The third instalment of the Indian Predator documentary series titled "Murder in the Courtroom" is all set to release on 28th October on Netflix. Directed by Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni, the new season would focus on the apparent lynching of serial rapist, killer, and extortionist Akku Yadav in a Nagpur district court.

The recently released ">trailer sets up the plot with interviews and dramatic re-enactments of Nagpur-based criminal Akku Yadav’s bail hearing in 2004 when a mob of women barged into the courtroom with sharp objects and chilli powder to kill him. The trailer doesn’t just highlight how a criminal was killed inside the courtroom, but also delves into complex questions, like the nature of mob violence, justification of social justice and the role of law in ignoring allegations against Yadav on the exploitation of women.

The Story Behind Indian Predator 3 Murder In A Courtroom

Born as Bharat Kalicharan in the early 1970s, Akku Yadav grew up around the Kasturba Nagar slum that lay on the outskirts of Nagpur. According to police reports, the slum not only housed minor criminals but also two rival gangs.

“A child of the neighbourhood, Akku had graduated from milkman's son to local menace,” writes Swati Mehta in her true crime book Killing Justice: Vigilantism in Nagpur.

Yadav and his gang committed crimes like rape, murder, home invasion, and extortion in Kasturba Nagar for 13 years until his death. Yadav tried to create a small business empire; he extorted money, harming and threatening those who resisted him. During his life as a criminal, Yadav murdered at least three individuals and raped over 40 women and girls.

In his lifetime, Yadav had been arrested nearly 14 times by the Nagpur Police. Mehta adds that he was even detained in 1999 for a year under the Maharashtra state’s preventive detention law: Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Boot-leggers, Drug Offenders and Dangerous Persons Act 1981.

However, despite 14 arrests and allegations of gruesome crimes, he wasn’t easily imprisoned. Yadav would often offer bribes and alcohol to the khaki-uniformed personnel to support his reign of terror.

The Death of Akku Yadav

A woman named Usha Narayane took note of the gravity of the situation when the rapist attacked her neighbour. Narayane went to the police station to complain against Yadav when the victim refused to go. When Yadav came for his trial on August 13, 2004, he was barely remorseful and boasted with confidence, further infuriating the women.

A mob of 200 to 400 women walked into the courtroom armed with stones, chilli powder and knives. One woman also reportedly hacked off his genitals. The police left the courtroom overwhelmed and terrified. Some women also threw chilli powder at the policemen who protected him.

“It was an emotional outburst,” Narayane said, as quoted in The Guardian.

Some women were arrested post the lynching but instead of ostracism, found solidarity in their community. All women took up responsibility for what played out in the courtroom that day, leaving the case cloudy. In 2014, it was reported all 18 accused in the case were acquitted for “lack of evidence,” bringing the ten-year-old case to a close.

A film based on the incident, 200: Halla Ho, was released on 20 August 2021.

Suggested Reading: The Real Life Story Behind OTT Film ‘200 Halla Ho’ Is Surreal And Important