More than three decades after a violent attack shook a village in Bihar’s Vaishali district, a local court has finally delivered its verdict, convicting the lone surviving accused in the case. The judgment has drawn attention not only because of the extraordinary delay but also because the convicted man is now 84 years old and physically frail.
A video showing the elderly man being helped out of the court premises by two people has gone viral on social media, highlighting the long journey from accusation to conviction.
The case dates back to May 10, 1992, when Judhavanpur village resident Adalat Rai filed a complaint alleging that five members of a family, armed with weapons, attacked him and his wife following a dispute. According to the complaint, the accused opened fire and carried out a violent assault, leaving the victims seriously injured.
Police registered a case and completed their investigation, filing a chargesheet in 1993. However, the legal proceedings dragged on for more than 33 years.
Over the course of the prolonged trial, four of the five accused passed away. Deep Rai, now 84, remained the only surviving accused and continued to face the court proceedings.
After examining the evidence and hearing arguments, Additional District and Sessions Judge Manoj Kumar Tiwari found Deep Rai guilty under Sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with a deadly weapon), and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code, along with Section 134 of the Arms Act.
While the conviction has been pronounced, the court is yet to decide the punishment. The sentence is scheduled to be announced on Wednesday.
The case stands as a stark reminder of the delays that often plague India’s judicial system, with justice arriving more than three decades after the incident and after all but one of the accused had died.