Recalling How And Why 200 Women Lynched Serial Rapist In Nagpur Courtroom

On August 13, 2004, a man named Bharat Kalicharan, alias Akku Yada met his death at the hands of 200 women who stoned him to death in broad daylight, in the premises of the Nagpur District Court. Official records against Yadav show that he was a gangster, robber, home invader, kidnapper, serial rapist, extortionist, and serial killer. He had allegedly started raping women at the age of 12 years. In 1991, when Yadav lived in Kasturba Nagar, he began with his criminal activities. His activities wreaked havoc in the city, forcing many families to stop their daughters and women from stepping out.

Lynching Of Yadav In August 2004

He would often ask small business owners for money and attack women and kill them if anyone refused to believe in them. He thought that a knife cuts a knife; therefore, he never went to the rich and powerful, where he feared danger for himself. In a decade, he attacked over 40 women, the youngest of them being a 10-year-old girl. Born in 1971, Yadav had murdered at least three, apart from invading homes, torturing them and kidnapping them. As for any legal action against him, he kept bribing the police and providing them liquor to allow him to commit the crimes.

Yadav continued to scare people, mostly Dalits of Kasturba Nagar; however, it was rape that humiliated the community the most. His objective of violating the modesty of women was to control men in the locality and ordered his henchmen to drag girls as young as 12 years old. Dozens of his victims sought legal action for rape, but the Police never charged Yadav for rape. One of the most haunting crimes by Yadav was the rape of a woman named Kalma. She had been raped barely ten days after she gave birth. Kalma committed suicide after burning herself by dousing herself with kerosene and then lighting it.

Another incident was of a woman who was seven months pregnant, and Yadav's men dragged her out of her house and stripped her off her clothes before raping her on the road. When women complained against Yadav, they turned down, sighting that their 'loose character' was why they got raped. Before Yadav's lynching in August 2004, he had been arrested more than 14 times.

How Was Yadav Killed?

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. This gave Yadav and his men to attack Narayane's home, but she refused to protest. This gave other women time to attack Yadav's house, and they pelted stones at Yadav and his men, forcing him to surrender.

When Yadav came for his trial on August 13, 2004, he was barely remorseful and boasted with confidence, further infuriating the women. He saw a woman he had raped and mocked her by calling her a prostitute and threatening to rape her again. The policemen accompanying him laughed at his comment. A woman standing in the front started hitting him with her slipper and told Yadav that either she would kill him, or he would kill her. A mob of 200 to 400 women walked into the courtroom armed with stones, chilli powder and knives. He was stabbed 70 times, and chilli powder and stones were thrown at his face. One woman also reportedly hacked off his penis. The police left the courtroom overwhelmed and terrified. Some women also threw chilli powder at the policemen who protected her.

After the incident, several people came forward to support the 200 women. Several experts also suggested that those women should be treated as 'victims' and not the accused. The women were charged with murder but later released due to the lack of evidence against them. At the end of the case, nobody was convicted for Akku Yadav's murder because all the city women said they were involved in the murder.

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