Serial murders in Gandhinagar: Killer struck only on public holidays

AHMEDABAD: The SIT formed to probe the serial murders in Gandhinagar is closing in on the killer, who shot three persons dead at point blank range in December 2018 and January. The investigation found that all three killings took place on public holidays, between 7.10am and 10am.
Officers of the SIT, which includes personnel from Gujarat ATS and Ahmedabad crime branch, said the same 7.65mm pistol was used in at least two of the killings.
“The empties found at the spot confirms that they were made at ordnance factories and the weapon that fired them is also a licenced weapon. It was probably stolen some time ago. We are closing on the killer using mobile phone location and we have two pieces of CCTV footage,” said a top official.
On December 9, 2018, a Sunday, Keshav Patel (74), a resident of Shahibaug who ran a construction materials business at the open plot near Preksha Bharti Ashram in Koba, was shot dead by an unidentified man. The shooting took place just 1.5km from the Gujarat BJP headquarters, Kamalam, which is in a high security zone. Before that, a 65-year-old man from Adalaj, Jogaji Bharwad was shot when he was sitting near a temple watching his cattle graze, on a Sunday.
An SIT was formed after the third murder, where Juthaji Thakor (45) of Sertha village was shot in the head at Adalaj on January 26, again a public holiday, said a police official.
An SIT official said, “None of the victims had any rivalry and each one has a different background. There is no connection between the victims. We have got one bit of CCTV footage in which the killer is seen, but from distance. It was sent to experts for enhancement,” said a police official. According to top officials of SIT said that the killer is suspected to be suffering from some mental illness and they have drawn up a list of such suspects. SIT sources said as all three murders took place on public holidays, extra security will be deployed at secluded spots in Gandhinagar on public holidays.