Valsad:

A ‘serial killer’ arrested for the rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman in Valsad district of Gujarat has admitted to have committed a sixth murder at Dabhoi in the state in June, police said on Tuesday.

Rahul Jat, a native of Rohtak in Haryana, was arrested after the body of a 19-year-old woman college student was found on November 14 near Udvada railway station in Valsad district.

During interrogation, Jat had confessed to having committed four murders in the past.

“He has now confessed to a sixth murder, of a visually-challenged youth,” Superintendent of Police Karanraj Vaghela said.

During the journey from Pratapnagar in Vadodara on June 8, 2024, Jat befriended Fayaz Ahmed Sheikh who hailed from Nandurbar in Maharashtra.

They got down at Dabhoi in Vadodara district. Jat allegedly took him to an isolated area, strangled him using an iron chain and took away the mobile phone and money he was carrying, SP Vaghela said.

“With this, we have succeeded in cracking one more undetected murder,” he added.

Only a day before his arrest, Jat had allegedly robbed a woman and murdered her on a train near Secunderabad in Telangana.

In October, he allegedly raped and murdered a woman on a train near Solapur railway station in Maharashtra. He also stabbed to death an elderly man on Katihar Express near Howrah railway station in West Bengal.

A train passenger murdered near Mulki in Karnataka was also found to be his victim, as per the police.

Jat visited Surat, Valsad and Vapi four to five times in the last one year and had come to Valsad to collect his salary from a hotel where he worked.

He was jailed in 2018-19 and 2024 in cases related to truck theft and illegal arms smuggling in Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Jat robbed lone travelers and raped women, especially in the coaches for differently-abled passengers. Nabbing him was difficult for the police as he kept moving and mostly slept at railway platforms and in trains.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi/Ahmedabad:

The arrest of a man on charges of raping and killing a 19-year-old woman in Gujarat has opened up a can of worms, with police officers saying that the accused committed at least four other murders, mostly on trains, across states in less than a month.

Rahul Karamveer Jat, a resident of Rohtak in Haryana, was arrested from Vapi Railway Station in Gujarat’s Valsad on November 24, after a massive search involving police units from various states and scanning of at least 2,000 CCTV cameras across several Gujarat districts.

Police said the accused, a Class 5 dropout who has confessed to the crimes, looted and murdered people whenever he found them alone, and raped women, especially in the coaches meant for differently-abled passengers. Getting a hold of him was tough since he kept moving and mostly slept at railway platforms and in trains.

“He was arrested on Sunday night in a joint operation carried out by local and railway police. Jat travelled extensively and kept changing his location. We have found that he is involved in at least four cases of loot and murder on trains and at railway stations in Karnataka, West Bengal, Telangana and Maharashtra,” Superintendent of Police (SP) Karanraj Vaghela said.

The skeletons tumbled out of the cupboard when the Valsad district police launched a probe into the murder of the woman, whose body was found near the tracks close to Udvada railway station on November 14. A forensic examination revealed that the woman was raped.

Police said as several search teams were formed, the accused was spotted on CCTVs at the railway station, wearing the same clothes that were recovered from the area where the woman’s body was found. The CCTV footage also showed Jat relishing some food, after committing the chilling crime, at the railway station.

“He had come here to collect his salary from a hotel where he worked, and raped and killed the woman during his visit. The woman was returning home from tuition when the incident occurred,” the SP said.

Police said Jat committed four other murders before and after raping and killing the woman.

Only a day before his arrest, the accused looted and murdered a woman on a train near Secunderabad railway station in Telangana. In October, he raped and murdered a woman on a train near Solapur railway station in Maharashtra. Later, he stabbed to death an elderly man on Katihar express train near Howrah railway station in West Bengal. He is also accused of murdering a train passenger in Mulki in Karnataka.

As the accused’s photograph was mapped with the national database of prisoners, police learnt that he was released from Jodhpur central jail earlier this year, where he was lodged in connection with a robbery case.

Jat’s father has passed away and his family has disowned him, police said. After quitting studies in Class 5, he engaged in various acts of loot in Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. There are 13 first information reports (FIRs) registered against him.

(With inputs from Mahendra Prasad)