Raman Raghav
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Raman Raghav (1929 - 1995) was a psychopathic serial killer who operated in the city of Mumbai (then Bombay), India in the mid-1960s. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia after his arrest. Very little is known about Raghav's early life or circumstances that led him to commit the crimes.
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[edit] Killings
A series of murders in August 1968 attracted the attention of the Mumbai police and the media to the possibility of a serial killer operating in the city. By the end of the year 19 people were reported as attacked. While 9 victims died, none of the survivors had recollections good enough to give the police leads. Some estimates claim that Raghav was responsible for bludgeoning as many as 42 people to death. The common feature was that all the victims had head injuries inflicted by a hard and blunt object while they were asleep. All the victims were poor people, street urchins and beggars who usually slept on the side of roads and streets in the open. However, police investigators deduced that most of the victims came from huts that lay along a municipal water pipeline, known as the duct line. Most of the murders were perpetrated in the Ghatkopar, Andheri and Jogeshwari area. The reported crimes caused a sensation in the city and lead to widespread public anxiety and panic. Inhabitants of slums, huts and apartments dreaded sleeping in the open or with open windows and balconies.
[edit] Arrest
Police officers began 24-hour patrolling in the duct line area. Sub-inspector of police Alex Fialho noticed a prowler. Sub-inspector Fialho detained and searched him in the presence of two respectable witnesses from the area. The suspect gave his name as Raman Raghav, but old records disclosed that he had several aliases like "Sindhi Dalwai", "Talwai", "Anna", "Thambi" and "Veluswami". The suspect carried, on his person, a pair of spectacles, two combs, a pair of scissors, a stand for burning incense, soap, garlic, tea dust and two pieces of paper with some mathematical figures. The bush shirt and khaki shorts which he was wearing had bloodstains and his shoes were full of mud. His fingerprints with those on record confirmed that the suspect was indeed Raman Raghav alias Sindhi Dalvai. He was described as tall, well-built and dark-complexioned.
[edit] Investigation
For a long time, Raghav refused to answer questions. However, he began to answer their questions after the police fulfilled his request for dishes of chicken to eat. He then gave a detailed testimony, describing his weapon, and his modus operandi. He testified that he had visions of God who instructed him to undertake the crimes. Raghav also claimed he had invented a special weapon he called a kanpatti, a blunt instrument used for his crimes. While determined that Raghav came from outside of Mumbai, he did not answer questions about his background or family. His trial at a court in Mazagaon lasted for nearly two years, after which he was sent for treatment at a mental asylum in Thane. He died there a few years later. Subsequent studies by psychiatrists assert that Raghav was probably suffering from schizophrenia, delusions and hallucinations.
[edit] Legacy
Raman Raghav occupies an infamous position of being one of the most prominent cases of psychopathic and serial killing in India. Indian filmmaker Sriram Raghavan produced a 45-minute short film on Raman Raghav, starring Raghuvir Yadav in the lead role. In the mid-1980s, another serial killer emerged in Mumbai, terrorising the population of Sion and neighbouring localities. Given the nickname "Stoneman," he was not captured despite intensive efforts of police.
