Akku Yadav was a rapist, extortionist, and murderer. He was lynched by a mob of around 200 women from Kasturba Nagar after they heard that Yadav was likely to get bail again.
Akku Yadav a resident of Kasturba Nagar had raped several women for more than a decade. As per residents of Kasturba Nagar, a rape victim lives in every other house in the slum. Yadav had also reportedly killed three neighbors and dumped their bodies on railway tracks. Local residents reported his crime to the police several times but each time he was arrested and later he was granted bail. It is said that he used to bribe the police that is why the police did not take any stringent action against him.
Once a 22-year-old girl was raped by Yadav and she lodged a complaint in the local police station against him but the police accused her of having an affair with him instead of taking action against Yadav. The police said, “You’re a loose woman. That’s why he raped you.”
Two weeks before the lynching, Yadav reached Usha Narayane’s house, a local activist, and threatened to rape her and throw acid on her. but Narayane being a brave girl was not scared and she rather threatened to set her house on fire using gas, Yadav and his goons immediately fled and a mob burned down Yadav’s home.
Hearing that Yadav would be given bail, 200 women decided to march to the courthouse carrying vegetable knives and chili powder. “It was not calculated,” Narayane says. “It was not a case that we all sat down and calmly planned what would happen. It was an emotional outburst. The women decided that, if necessary, they’d go to prison, but that this man would never come back and terrorise them.”
As he reached the court, Yadav saw the woman he had raped. He called her a prostitute and threatened to rape her again. The police also laughed. She was furious and took off her sandal and began to hit him, shouting, “We can’t both live on this Earth together. It’s you or me.” soon all women joined her and threw Chilli powder in his face. one of his alleged victims hacked off his penis with a vegetable knife. They stabbed him several times until he died. It took women only 15 minutes to kill the monster and he was dead on the courthouse floor.
However, the police immediately arrested five women. Then, every woman living in the slum took responsibility for the murder and asked the police to arrest them all. One retired high court judge came in support of these women and congratulated them. I’m not scared. I’m not ashamed,” Narayane says. “We’ve done a good thing for society. We will see whether society repays us.”
stringent action needs to be taken against the perpetrators. Our government’s top priority should be the safety of women. The safety and the right to live without any fear is every citizen’s rights.
