Gorakhpur:

A 30-year-old man, who was arrested for allegedly breaking into homes at night and hitting sleeping women on the head in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur, has told police that he held a grudge against women and sought to take revenge after he was imprisoned in a 2022 child abuse case.

At a press briefing at the White House at Gorakhpur Police Line on Sunday, Gorakhpur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gaurav Grover said the accused, Ajay Nishad, was involved in five such attacks on women, one of whom even succumbed to injuries. He would also speak to his girlfriend over the phone after committing each assault, police said.

“He always wore black clothes and remained barefoot as he broke into homes and hit women on the head with sticks or rods. He liked hitting the head of his women inmates in jail and that is why he carried out such assaults once he was released,” SSP Grover said.

The police earlier said that Nishad was in prison for six months in a 2022 child abuse case. Out on bail, he lived in Surat for a while before returning to Gorakhpur. He carried out his first attack on the night of July 30, when he entered a house and hit a woman on the head, before fleeing away with some jewellery.

The police said that Nishad’s role in the crime was established on the basis of CCTV footage of the localities he struck in.

They added that tracing the accused was a “challenging” task. Several teams were formed and a prize of Rs 100,000 was also announced for the team that would arrest the accused.

The police have recovered several blunt objects, including an iron rod and a bed leg, suspected to have been used in the attacks. They said they would put the matter before a fast-track court and ensure strict punishment for Nishad.

Gorakhpur (UP):

Police in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur have arrested a young man for allegedly breaking into homes at night and hitting sleeping women on the head. In five such incidents spread over four months, one woman died and four others were injured. The accused, Ajay Nishad, now faces multiple cases, including that of murder.

Police have said Ajay Nishad faces a 2022 child abuse case and was in jail for six months. Out on bail, he lived in Surat for sometime before returning to Gorakhpur. His first night attack was on a July 30, when he entered a house, hit a woman on the head and fled with some jewellery.

According to police, this incident set the modus operandi for the ones that were to follow. “He started with a robbery. He attacked a woman and hit her on the head. He then adopted this as a modus operandi,” senior police officer Dr Gaurav Grover told the media.

The next incident, police said, took place on August 12. This time, the blow was more severe and the victim died of the injuries. This was followed by three more incidents, dated August 26, November 10 and November 14, police said.

Dr Grover said police have established Ajay Nishad’s involvement in the crime on the basis of CCTV footage of the localities he struck in. “He has described the chain of events during questioning. We have also corroborated the statements by the complainants in all the cases to conclude that all these crimes were committed by him,” he said.

Police said some of the complainants had spotted Ajay Nishad before he escaped. “They had described him as a young man who always wore black clothes and remained barefoot. We questioned people on and identified suspects based on these inputs,” he said.

Police have recovered several blunt objects, including an iron rod and a bed leg, suspected to have been used in the attacks. Police have said they would put the matter before a fast-track court and ensure strict punishment for Ajay Nishad.

Inputs by Abrar Ahamad