Convict in Nitish Katara murder dies in UP crash: Sukhdev Yadav killed months after release; police hunt for speeding car

LUCKNOW: Sukhdev Yadav, one of three men convicted in the 2002 Nitish Katara honour killing case that sparked national outrage, died Tuesday night in a road accident in UP's Kushinagar, barely four months after walking free from a 20-year prison sentence.A speeding car struck a motorcycle carrying three men around 10pm, police said. Sukhdev, alias Pahalwan, died at the scene while the 55-year-old's two companions, Vijay Gupta (45) and Bhagwat Singh (50), were hospitalised with critical injuries.Cousins Vikas Yadav and Vishal Yadav, along with henchman Sukhdev, were convicted for killing Katara after abducting him from a wedding in Ghaziabad on Feb 16, 2002.Katara's mother had opposed decision to release convicts Katara, a 23-year-old business executive, was in a relationship with Bharti Yadav, the daughter of former MP DP Yadav and Vikas's sister. The family opposed the relationship.Three days after Vikas and his cousin got Katara abducted, police found his charred body near Bulandshahr. A Delhi fast-track court sentenced Vikas and Vishal to life imprisonment in 2008. Sukhdev received 20 years. The Delhi high court upheld the verdict in 2014. Two years later, the Supreme Court confirmed 25-year prison terms without remission for Vikas and Vishal.Sukhdev had approached the Delhi HC to get parole, but his plea was rejected, and he approached the Supreme Court. While hearing his parole plea, SC noticed that he had already served a 20-year jail sentence and was entitled to be released from jail. But his plea was opposed by the Delhi govt, which took the stand that he can come out only after it grants remission of sentence, like in the case of life imprisonment.But SC ruled remission was not needed in a case when a convict is sentenced for a fixed term, like in this case which is 20 years, and the convict must be released from jail after completion of the sentence. Katara's mother had publicly opposed Sukhdev's release in Aug.Police have seized the vehicle involved in the collision that killed Sukhdev.