“I am convinced there is justice in this country, even for the poor,” Anil Haldar told Newsline. it has been a tough fight from the moment they filed an FIR to trace their missing daughter nearly three years ago. The couple sold everything they owned, never once wavering from the job at hand. Dolly Haldar said: “Come visit our house and I will tell you what we have gone through. We work more hours to foot the legal bill. The accused deserve the maximum punishment this country’s laws can hand down.” It is learnt the Haldars have spent close to Rs 2.5 lakh on the case.

Haldar complained the Noida Police still seemed uncaring.

Dolly alleged: “Five rickshaws were stolen from our locality, but constables deputed in front of D-5 told us their job was limited to guarding Pandher’s house. They were just as insensitive when we registered the FIR.”

The families of victims Pinki Sarkar and Madhu were also present in court when the judgement on Pandher and Koli was pronounced.

“The police officer posted in Nithari had earlier refused to lodge Madhu’s missing report saying she might have run away with someone. My 20-year-old daughter was raped and killed in D-5. Both Pandher and Koli admitted to the killing in front of me,” alleged Karanbir, Madhu’s father and a security guard in Noida.

Pinki’s mother Bandana Sarkar said, “Both Koli and Pandher went upstairs and recovered the axe while the probe was on. They confessed to their crime before the Noida police in front of us. We know how we have arranged money to get justice for our murdered children,” Bandana said. Pinki went missing on October 5, 2005.

In court on Thursday, just after special CBI judge Rama Jain had convicted Koli and Pandher, his son Karndeep hugged his father and started sobbing. Devender Kaur too clung to her estranged husband in court.