NEW DELHI: The son of a wealthy Indian politician was found guilty on Wednesday of murdering his sister’s boyfriend because he disapproved of their relationship, in a case seen as a test of courts’ ability to take on the powerful.

A New Delhi court found Vikas Yadav guilty in the 2002 abduction and murder of Nitish Katara and of destroying evidence of the crime. His cousin, Vishal Yadav, was also convicted on the same charges.

Vikas Yadav’s father, Dharam Pal Yadav, is a wealthy and powerful lawmaker from India’s Uttar Pradesh state, notorious for strongmen who dominate state politics using money, power and harassment to further their interests.

The case was seen as a bellwether of the courts’ ability and willingness to take on powerful figures who often use bribery and influence to escape punishment.

Katara’s lawyer, Kamini Jaiswal, said she was relieved by the court’s decision. “They were very, very moneyed and powerful people that we were dealing with,” she told the CNN-IBN news channel.

The mother of the victim hailed the judgment.

“I was confident that justice would be done,” Neelam Katara told reporters outside the court house.

Sentencing of the two men is scheduled for Friday. They are both likely to appeal.

Katara, then 24, was last seen the night before he was killed, attending a wedding with Vikas Yadav’s sister, Bharti. His badly charred body was found later.

The prosecution said the defendants killed Katara because they did not approve of his relationship with Bharti.

In most parts of largely conservative India, romantic relationships without parental approval are frowned upon and even considered an affront to family honour.

It was the second time Vikas Yadav has been implicated in a murder case.

In 2006 the Delhi High Court sentenced Manu Sharma, the son of another wealthy politician, to life in prison in the 1999 killing of a former model. Vikas Yadav was found guilty of helping Sharma escape and destroying evidence. He was sentenced to four years in prison.

He has appealed the sentence, but was not granted bail and remains in jail.—AP