Valsad: A case of rape and murder involving a young girl was reported at Pardi Police Station in Valsad. After nearly ten days of investigation, the police cracked the case and arrested the suspect, identified as Rahul Singh Jat, a “psycho killer” originally from Haryana. Rahul, who happens to have a disability as well, is in police custody.
According to police, Rahul raped a 19-year-old girl, a 12th-grade student, in the Moriwada area of Pardi in Valsad and subsequently murdered her. During interrogation, he confessed to committing five murders over the past 25 days, all at different locations. It is suspected that he also had intercourse with the corpse of the victim. However, police are yet to confirm this.
The police revealed that the serial killer exploited his physical disability to his advantage, often travelling for free on trains and committing many of his crimes on train. Rahul, who has over 13 cases of robbery, dacoity, and murder registered against him in several states, was apprehended by the Valsad police.
“In the case of the 19-year-old girl who was raped and killed in Pardi on November 14, the accused was arrested on November 24 and remanded for ten days starting December 5, 2024. The crime scene has been reconstructed, and evidence such as the victim's phone cover has been recovered. The accused has identified locations where he purchased items like a milk bag, a water bottle, a Maaza bottle, and cigarettes, which are now part of the investigation,” said Karanraj Vaghela, SP of Valsad district.
"On the evening of 14th November, a girl was brought to a hospital in a critical condition. The hospital immediately informed the local police. The local police station's PI Crime Division arrived there. The girl was found dead in a critical condition. A forensic post-mortem was performed on her," the officer added.
How Was Accused Traced And Nabbed
A special investigation committee comprising two Deputy SPs and five PIs has been formed to oversee the case due to its seriousness. The SP added, “On October 20, at Gutti Railway Station in Andhra Pradesh, an unidentified female was found dead, and this case has also been linked to the accused. All five victims have been identified, and an SIT has been formed to further investigate.”
The investigation has required extensive efforts, including scrutinising the railway route from Valsad to Andhra Pradesh, analysing over 2,000 CCTV recordings, and involving around 400 police personnel.
"Keeping in mind the seriousness of the crime, the local police station's P.I. and more than 200 police home guards were involved in this investigation. The local police station's GRP and RPF were also involved in this investigation," he added.
According to the cop, the CCTV footage of the railway station showed that the suspect was wearing the victim's clothes. The suspect was followed and traced. "Thanks to the software of the Lajpur Jail, we were able to match the photo of the accused with the one of the girl," the officer added.
CCTV
About The Accused- Rahul Singh
Police said that a team was sent to Jodhpur Central Jail. The accused’s whereabouts were investigated. A murder case was found to have been registered in the Mangalore sub-division of Karnataka. Another case of a man’s murder in train was registered against him.
In Havra, a senior citizen was killed in a train and the same was linked to Rahul. A woman was also found dead in a train and now the police have been informed of the crime in all four states. The accused has also confessed to murder on Pune to Kanyakumari train from 17th October to 21st October.
According to the police, Rahul hails from Rohtak. His father had passed away and his family disowned him. He studied till 5th grade. During these years only, Rahul began stealing things.
Rahul's criminal boundaries were spread across Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and 13 FIRs have been registered against him charging him of theft, loot, kidnapping. In May this year, he was released from Jodhpur Central Jail in a theft case.