Justice delayed but not denied—that’s the message from a Bihar court that finally punished five men for a barbaric double assault in 1991. The Muzaffarpur Additional District Judge-5 court delivered life sentences to the culprits who tied a woman to a tree, beat her mercilessly, and then tortured her brother to death.
The violence erupted in Sivarahan Chaturbhuj village when a gang led by Baidyanath Rai invaded Mohan Rai’s farmland. Armed with guns, lathis, and explosives, they forcibly tilled the soil despite objections. Basanti Devi, Mohan’s mother, bore the brunt first: beaten brutally and bound to a tree like an animal.
Her brother Kunwar Rai rushed to her aid amid the village uproar, only to face Baidyanath’s gunfire. Three shots rang out, felling Kunwar instantly. The mob then snapped his arm in a final act of cruelty as he lay dying. Fast-forward 34 years: Judge Alok Kumar Pandey sentenced Baidyanath, Rambalam, Mahanth, Ramchandra Paswan, and Sahdev Rai to life behind bars, plus Rs 50,000 fines each.
Special Public Prosecutor Sunil Kumar Pandey meticulously built the case with eyewitness accounts from the FIR lodged by Mohan Rai, naming 13 suspects. Though years of delays tested the family’s resolve, today’s verdict brought tears of relief. ‘My mother’s eyes witnessed the horror; now justice has blinded the guilty,’ Mohan reflected.
This ruling not only avenges a heinous crime but also highlights the resilience of India’s legal system in upholding accountability across generations.