Indian Constitution & Human

Rights
2018

By-Shubendu Sarkar | Topic- Raman Raghav: The serial killer case (murder (law of India))Indian
Penal court 1860 | Submitted to -Mrs. Nimisha Jha
 Raman Raghav, also known as Sindhi Talwai, Anna, Thambi, and Veluswami, was a serial killer
from Khstra (then Patra) active during the mid-1960s.
went on a killing spree over three years in the 1960s, casting a spell of fear over the city. Parks and
streets emptied out at dusk and in many areas, nervous residents carrying sticks patrolled the streets.
There were several incidents in which beggars and homeless men were badly assaulted by panicky
crowds. The murders took place in two lots – the first between 1965 and 1966 when 19 people were
attacked. The second round of killings took place in 1968, and on 27 August, a sub-inspector from Mr
Kulkarni's team recognised him from photographs and descriptions given by those who had survived his
attacks.A series of murders occurred in the outskirts of Mumbai in August 1968. Pavement and hutment
dwellers were bludgeoned to death while they slept. All the murders took place at night and were
committed using a hard, blunt object. A series of murders had taken place some years earlier (1965–66)
in the Eastern suburbs of Mumbai. In that year, as many as 19 people had been attacked, out of whom 9
victims had died.

At the time a suspicious looking man found loitering in area had been picked up by the police. His name
was Raman Raghav, a homeless man, and he was already in police files, having spent five years in prison
for robbery. As no solid evidence could be found against him for the new crimes the police let him go.
When the killer struck again in 1968 the police launched a manhunt for him. Ramakant Kulkarni, then
the Deputy Commissioner of Police CID (Crime) took over the investigation and spearheaded a massive
combing operation in the city. This time the police arrested him and obtained a confession.He admitted
that he had killed 23 people in 1966 along the GIP (Great Indian Peninsular Railway as the Central
Railway (India) was then known) line and almost a dozen in 1968 in the suburbs. However, it is likely that
he killed many more. There was widespread public anxiety and panic in Mumbai. Inhabitants of slums
and apartments dreaded sleeping out in the open or with open windows and balconies.Combing
through a city like Bombay for a homeless man, who looks like any other, was a daunting task. But the
hysteria that had gripped Bombay residents was too urgent. Rumours about a serial killer with
superhuman powers spread. Some said he could turn into any animal he wanted, some claimed to have
seen him sleeping in a tree in Aarey Colony. Soon, Raghav was nabbed by former police offer Alex Fialho
in Bhendi Bazaar. He told Fialho he had no remorse; he was instructed by God to kill those people. In the
light of such confessions and more, the counsel for defence, PV Pawar, made a case for unsoundness of
mind on behalf of Raghav in front of the Additional Sessions judge. His plea was that his client did not
understand the nature of the act while committing it, nor that it was contrary to law. The Police Surgeon
of Mumbai observed him for a month, and declared him mentally sound. Raghav was sentenced to be
hanged.

The verdict was sent to the High Court for ‘confirmation’; a three-member panel of psychiatrists was set
up to question and observe Raghav. The panelists confirmed he was suffering from Chronic Paranoid
Schizophrenia. Some of his confessions of his beliefs to the panelists were such:

A firm belief that other people are trying to put homosexual temptations in his way so that he may
succumb and get converted to a woman.
An unshakable belief that there are three governments in the country - the Akbar Government, the
British Government, and the Congress Government and that these Governments are trying to persecute
him and put temptations before him.

Having been declared incurably mentally ill, his sentence was reduced to life imprisonment. He was
lodged at Yerwada Jail in Pune, and died at Sasson hospital from kidney failure in 1987.