Indian Predator: Murder in a Courtroom

Akku Yaddav terrorises the women and girls of the small Kasturba village, raping and murdering, the authorities do nothing, the local women do.

Wow, this was a real eye opener, an almost shocking drama. I've been somewhat mixed in my views about the Indian Predator series so far, this series though is head and shoulders above the last few.

Well paced, well produced, it is a little muddled in parts, the narrative does jump about, but in the end, the pieces do come together quite well.

Netflix did a good job at presenting both sides, apart from hearing from the women who went after him, you will also hear from his supporters too, accounts are genuinely shocking.

You'll have to make up your own mind as to whether you think they were right to do what they did, but one thing was evident, there was no justice, Yaddav's victims were failed by the legal system, those that issued their own justice felt like they had no other course of action.

One thing that is evident in every documentary series where there is perpetrator and victim, is that people always target the most vulnerable they can find, those that society has turned their back on, and stopped caring about, focusing on people who the authorities will perhaps turn a blind eye to, it doesn't matter the country, the time, the crime, it's always the same.

Genuinely a cracking watch, 8/10.

I would say, If their version of story is even half true then this past should haunt the indian justice and legal system ages to come. I know I got no right to comment on truthfullness of the series. It was a documentary where different put forward their own version of story. But, It was evident from the series how the justice failed not only one person but a whole village. That feeling of helplessness, pain , anger nobody deserves let alone the the innocent people of kasturba nagar and I pity the monster's(I know MONSTER right but some incident are so heinous that it sends a shiver through your body, tears through your eyes and fills into your heart) lawyer, his friends and that Journalist even with all your absurd theories you couldn't put forward any logical theory to justify his actions.

True story of Kasturba village horror.. the level of crime shown in the show is unimaginable and extremely horrific.. Residents of the village had to not only face the atrocities of the antagonist but also that of Police, administration and media.. When they decide to enact, the so called media brand them as urban naxal.. however justice prevails better late than never.. this documentary is an eye opener to the society for understanding the life of underprivileged and how they are treated by the society.. Truly remarkable documentary.. Hats off to Netflix for bringing the facts on to the table.

This three part documentary series tells the story of the killing of Akku Yadav. It is a very unusual case; for years he had terrorised the people of Kasturba Nagar, a slum area of the city of Nagpur with impunity. His crimes included murder, rape and extortion. Eventually he was arrested and during his bail hearing a large number of women forced their way into the court and killed him. The authorities seemed far keener to arrest these poor woman than they were to stop Yadav. The series starts with his death before telling us about his crimes; this takes the form of first person testimony from surviving victims. There are also statements from Yadav's friends who refuse to believe he could have committed the crimes he was accused of.

I found this to be a really interesting documentary. When one first learns about a man being lynched in court it is hard not to think that nothing could justify such action but the more we learn about his crimes and the authorities' refusal to do anything about them one can't help be far more sympathetic to his victims than him. As well as shining a light on a specific case it also servers to highlight the treatment of the Dalit community, the so-called Untouchables, at the time. The format of interviews mixed with some re-enactments of key events is really effective. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to people interested in real crime stories or those interested in India and its people, particularly how those at the bottom of society are treated.

There is a certain level of satisfaction when you learn how the oppressed residents of Kasturba Nagar took matters into their own hands and finished off a true, unflinching monster - Akku Yadav. Director Umesh Kulkarni details the proceedings over 3 episodes, an hour each. While it begins with the titular murder incident that took place in a district court room in Maharashtra, the real meat of the story lies in what preceded it, dating almost 5 years back (1999-2004).

Akku Yadav was a terror-inducing presence in the Kasturba Nagar slum inhabited mostly by Dalits. He inflicted various kinds of harm on the community as a whole, especially on helpless women and children, with the menfolk unable to do much except join their families in plight. This is truly the stuff of nightmares, especially when you have to live in fear of harassment, attack, or abuse on a daily basis. Maybe, that's why it's so relevant to give these ladies a platform to candidly voice out how they felt living life in those times.

The makers also do not go the exploitative route, giving the victims due respect and letting them reveal just as much as they want to. The crimes of Akku Yadav are narrated in ghastly detail but the visual recreation never resorts to shocking imagery unlike the previous couple of entries. Even a particularly horrific murder committed by Yadav is handled without the usual blood-soaked frames.

Some of the women sound off on Yadav's intimidating presence, how much they detested him, and their own attempts to kill him without thinking twice. Their confidence is just exhilarating to watch, and translates over to viewers as well. Of course, it's an absolute failure of the police and judicial systems, allowing a criminal like Yadav to go about doing what he did for so long. The perspective of journalists, friends, and lawyers of Yadav obviously lean a different way, but it's easy to look past that. Yeah, even if you don't applaud the ladies for deleting Yadav from existence in the gnarliest way, their lives are proof enough to acknowledge the levels of oppression that they've been through.

P. S - I whistled when Usha brought out an open gas cylinder and confronted Yadav who was ready to barge into her house and possibly kill her. The point is, documentaries don't always offer such moments. This one did!