She fought for 10 years after her son was killed. UP court has now delivered its verdict

For Jogendra’s mother, Suneeta, the verdict marked the end of years of grief and hardship.

It was her husband, Satyadev, a daily wage labourer, who had lodged the complaint and fought for justice. But he died a year after his son’s killing, leaving Suneeta to carry forward the legal battle.

Jogendra was the second of their four children. The two tragedies not only shattered the family emotionally, but also pushed them into severe financial hardship.

“After my husband’s death, I took up whatever work I could — working as a labourer and sometimes as a domestic help — to raise my three minor children,” said Suneeta.

“Even while struggling to feed my family, my focus never shifted from the case. I kept in touch with government counsel to keep track of the court proceedings. I was determined that those responsible for my son’s murder should be punished, because they killed him over a petty matter,” said Suneeta.

Despite pressure, Suneeta, along with her son and daughter, remained among the six key prosecution witnesses whose testimony proved crucial during the trial. It formed a critical part of the prosecution’s case against the convicted men, said the government counsel.

Suneeta said her fight for justice was made even harder because the accused, apart from being her neighbours, belonged to the same Jatav community, placing her family under immense social pressure.

She alleged that when attempts to influence or silence them failed, the pressure turned into indirect threats against her and her children. “We repeatedly made complaints to the police about threats from the accused, but when police arrived, they escaped,” said Jogendra’s brother, Sunil, 24.

Pravendra Singh said Suneeta had followed the case till the end. “She regularly contacted me to know the progress of the case despite knowing little about court proceedings,” he said.

What happened in 2016

According to the prosecution, on July 10, 2016, Jogendra mysteriously disappeared from near his home in Rura Bagar village in Bulandshahr. For three days, his family searched everywhere for him.

A local resident later alerted the family that Jogendra had allegedly been taken into nearby thickets by the accused, who killed him and strung up his body from a tree. Police were immediately informed.

Jogendra’s father subsequently filed a complaint alleging that the murder was rooted in a previous dispute. However, the police did not file a case so Satyadev moved court.

Later, on the court’s directive, the case was lodged.

According to the prosecution, the father had stated that a few days before Jogendra was killed, he had accidentally hit Praveen’s son with his motorcycle, resulting in a fractured leg. The incident, the family alleged, led Praveen to develop deep resentment against the teenager.