Akku Yadav

 

If you've seen Netflix's original documentary series 'Indian Predator: Murder In A Courtroom,' you'll remember the criminal Akku Yadav. Certain names in criminal history send shivers down the spine, and Akku Yadav is one among them. Akku Yadav, real name Bharat Kalicharan, was an Indian serial rapist and murderer. During the late 20th century, he terrorized Nagpur with his horrific acts.

Bharat Kalicharan 'Akku Yadav'

Akku Yadav was born in the early 1970s in Nagpur, Maharashtra, in a poor family. He grew up on the outskirts of Nagpur in the Kasturba Nagar slum. According to police reports, the slum was an active center of criminal activity, with two clashing gangs leading Akku into the criminal world.

Yadav and his group used to commit a number of crimes, including extortion, rape, murder, and house invasion, with women being their main target. In 1991, Akku committed his first major crime, a gang rape. His illegal activities escalated in the early 2000s as he established his empire in Kasturba Nagar. He extorted money from the slum's residents and harmed those who defied him.

He has more than three murders and the rape of over 40 women and girls on his criminal record. He and his gang were known for kidnapping and torturing people. He has raped so many women that there is a rape victim in every other house in Kasturba Nagar. His youngest victim was a 10-year-old girl. Yadav used rape to silence those who opposed him. He bribed the police for letting him continue his crimes, which is why the police never intervened and supported his crimes for many years.

Women of the Kasturba Nagar slum

Understanding Yadav's crime demands a look at the socio-political context in which it took place. The slums of Nagpur were filled with poverty, unemployment, and a lack of opportunities Many residents were marginalized and vulnerable, particularly women. Yadav took advantage of these conditions and built a reign of terror with the support of political and criminal connections. Inadequate law enforcement and corruption facilitated Yadav's ability to carry out his heinous acts.

He committed numerous horrible crimes, many of which went unrecorded. Here are some of his crimes, as witnessed and described by victims in the reports.

• He stabbed a woman named Asha Bai in front of his 16-year-old granddaughter. He cut her ears and fingers in order to get her earring and rings.

• One victim informed police that he broke into their home early in the morning, stabbed his husband, and raped her for 3-4 hours.

• According to Kasturba Nagar residents, Yadav raped a woman just after her wedding.

• He stripped a man naked in front of his 16-year-old daughter and forced him to dance.

• Yadav assaulted a woman named Asho Bhagat by chopping off her breasts and hacking her to death on the street, in front of her daughter and neighbors.

• He murdered a neighbor who tried to report his crimes to the police.

• Yadav and his men gang-raped a woman just days after she gave birth.

• Yadav also raped a 7-month pregnant woman in front of the entire public.

Many of his victims attempted to report his crimes, but instead of assisting them, police informed Yadav about those people, leading Yadav to go after them. Many families have left Kasturba Nagar, and those who have remained have locked their daughters inside their homes in order to protect them. 

Usha Narayane in 'Indian Predator: Murder In A Courtroom'

When Usha Narayane learned about Yadav's actions, she advised one of the victims to file a report. She refused, so Narayane went to the police and filed a complaint, which caused Yadav to go after her next. Yadav and his group terrorized Narayane by surrounding her home and attempting to break down her door. However, as Narayane turned on the gas cylinder, she informed them that if they entered the house, she would blow herself and all of them up. They all left after smelling gas. However, Narayane's bravery encouraged the people to go after Yadav and his gang.

When Yadav and his men came across, many of the victims and others began throwing stones at them. Yadav's house was also burned down during one of these marches in 2004. Yadav then went to the police for protection and was taken into custody On August 7, 2004, he was scheduled to appear in the city district court, where he was attacked by a gang of slum people. After 5 days, his bail hearing in Nagpur's District Court was scheduled for 13 August 2004.

On that day, hundreds of women entered the courtroom, holding vegetable knives and chili powder, and took their seats. When Yadav entered the courtroom at about 3:00 p.m., he saw one of his rape victims and mocked her by calling her a prostitute, which raged the women there. These courageous women stormed at him and lynched him in front of the entire nation.

They all stabbed him, rubbed chili powder on his face, then chopped off his penis. The police, terrified by the scenario, fled, leaving Yadav to be attacked by hundreds of women. Yadav died on the floor of Nagpur District Court No.7 within 15 minutes of the attack.

The courtroom where Yadav was lynched

There were multiple versions of lynching that emerged after the CID investigated the case. According to one police report, the lynching was carried out by four men and women who were attempting to protect them, while another version stated that both men and women were engaged. According to BBC News, the lynching was carried out by 14 women and many children who forced their way into the courtroom. The group of women, however, did not agree with any of the police statements. Yadav's death was celebrated by the residents of the Kasturba Nagar slum. Many women, including Usha Narayane, were arrested but then released due to a lack of evidence in 2014.

Women arrested for court lunching

The incident highlighted the failure of the justice system. His case sparked a national conversation on the urgent need for police reforms, better support systems for victims, and the upliftment of marginalized communities in order to protect them.

Documentary series on Akku Yadav

Film '200 Halla Ho'

Candles in the Wind, a documentary on Yadav's inhumane acts, came out in 2011. Keechaka, a controversial film inspired by Yadav, was released in 2015. Another Yadav-based criminal thriller film, 200 Halla Ho, was released in 2021.
Akku Yadav's story is a terrifying reminder of the horrors that can occur when law and order fail to protect the vulnerable. Yadav's reign of terror in Nagpur exposed the deeper issues of poverty, corruption, and gender-based violence that continue to haunt Indian society. It served as a wake-up call for everyone to fix the systemic flaws that enable criminals like him to exist. Only by addressing the root causes of crime and offering help and protection to the weak, we can hope to prevent the rise of such criminals in society.