Patna: In a poignant reminder of justice delayed but not denied, a local court in Bihar's Vaishali district has convicted 84-year-old Deep Rai, the sole surviving accused in a violent attack that took place more than three decades ago.
The frail elderly man, assisted by two people as he left the courtroom, became the face of a trial that stretched across generations. A video of his slow walk outside the court has gone viral, symbolising the extraordinary passage of time between crime and conviction.
The case dates back to May 10, 1992, when complainant Adalat Rai of Judhavanpur village alleged that five members of a family stormed his home, opened fire, and brutally assaulted him and his wife. Police filed a chargesheet in 1993, but the trial dragged on for decades.
Four of the accused died during the proceedings, leaving Deep Rai to face the verdict alone.
On Monday, Additional District and Sessions Judge Manoj Kumar Tiwari found him guilty under Sections 147, 148, and 307 of the IPC, along with Section 134 of the Arms Act. The sentence will be pronounced Wednesday.
For villagers, the conviction is both closure and tragedy, a stark tale of how justice, though slow, eventually arrives, even as life itself ebbs away.