Indian Predator – Murder in a Courtroom review: A true-crime drama that boasts solid story-telling

3.5/5

Story: In 2004, Akku Yadav, a notorious criminal from Kasturba Nagar in Nagpur, was lynched by a mob led by victims, mainly women, of his alleged crimes in a courtroom. For years, Akku had allegedly terrorized the villagers and subjected them to unspeakably heinous acts. With no help forthcoming from the police, the villagers finally decide to take the law into their own hands.

Review: Netflix’s true-crime series Indian Predator is getting better with every edition. In its third instalment, it presents the real-life tale of the murder of Akku Yadav, a criminal who was lynched by a mob of hundreds inside a courtroom. A mix of dramatized recreations of actual events and interviews with victims, those accused of murdering Akku, his former friends, and journalists familiar with the case, among others, Indian Predator: Murder in a Courtroom manages to be quite a riveting watch. This is even though the makers never once attempt to sensationalize it with graphic violence. The recreations are restrained yet manage to bring in the right amount of drama and suspense.

Spread across three episodes of 50-odd minutes each, Murder in a Courtroom is wholesome in its approach and presents all facets of this tale. So, while there is one set claiming that Akku had unleashed terror on the men and women of Kasturba Nagar for more than a decade, there is another school of thought that given the kind of crimes he is alleged to have committed, he could not have remained under the radar for so long. Some even try to paint a political hue to the conspiracy and that it could have been the result of gang rivalry even. Interestingly, no one from law enforcement is included on the show, perhaps because the lynching was a direct fallout of police failing to provide a safety net for the people of Kasturba Nagar.

Whatever be the case, there had to be something compelling enough for such a mob to assemble in a public place and risk everything in their ‘pursuit of justice’. Kudos to the makers in the choice of people who have made it to the documentary, especially the women, all of whom proudly confess to being complicit in the planning and execution of Akku’s murder and to have had a feast to celebrate his death.

There seems to have been some attempt at keeping the tone of the series unbiased, but at the end of the three episodes it does feel more like a celebration of vigilantism, of an uprising of the oppressed and that the end justified the means. Indian Predator-Murder in a Courtroom makes one wonder how and why a man accused of theft, rape and murder spent very little time behind bars, enjoyed police support and did not evoke interest in mainstream media, despite the grisly nature of his crimes. The consolation is that those accused in his murder were eventually acquitted a decade later citing insufficient evidence.

Verdict: Netflix is on recovery mode with the Indian Predator series. Fans of the genre are likely to find this one a good watch.