‘No signs of remorse’: Delhi ‘baba’ held for triple murder ‘misleads’ police

While the probe is ongoing, investigators said the accused, Kamruddin alias Baba, has shown “no signs of remorse” during questioning.

Delhi police on Thursday arrested a 72-year-old self-styled occultist for allegedly killing three people with poison-laced sweets, part of so-called tantric rituals to generate wealth, in Peeragarhi.

Police said that during questioning, the “baba” admitted he had prepared laddoos mixed with poison and travelled with the victims in their car. (File photo)

While the probe is ongoing, investigators said the accused, Kamruddin alias Baba, has shown “no signs of remorse” during questioning, a PTI news agency report said.

During interrogation, Baba reportedly tried to mislead investigators about his movements but failed to give satisfactory explanations. However, police said CCTV footage, electronic surveillance, and location data confirmed his presence in the victims’ car on the day of the murders, the report added.

Baba, a resident of Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh, has been sent to a five-day police remand while the probe into his financial transactions, contacts, and possible links to similar murders in other states is being widened.

A well-planned conspiracy

As reported by HT earlier, deputy police commissioner Sachin Sharma has said that Kamruddin had killed the three as part of a carefully planned scheme to make money.

“During the investigation, it was revealed that the accused lured innocent persons on the pretext of providing 'dhanvarsha [surprise money]' through tantric rituals,” Sharma said.

He added that Baba would win the victims’ trust, influence them, and then administer poison-laced laddoos to kill them and steal cash and valuables. “The accused is a habitual offender and has been previously involved in heinous criminal cases,” the officer said.

Victims and evidence

The victims were identified as Randhir (76) from Baprola, Shiv Naresh (42), a property dealer from Nangli Dairy, and Laxmi (40) from Jahangirpuri.

Police have also recovered liquor bottles, cold drink bottles, empty glasses, mobile phones, cash, helmets, jackets, Aadhaar cards, personal belongings, and other documents from the car.

“Call detail records and technical surveillance have revealed that the accused was in contact with a large number of people,” Sharma said. Authorities are verifying these links to see if others were also lured with promises of a “dhanvarsha,” PTI reported.

Links to other cases?

Police are examining similarities between this case and a 2025 murder in Uttar Pradesh’s Makkhanpur, where two people were killed, as well as another case in Dholpur, Rajasthan.

Officials said the same modus operandi, that included targeting people in financial distress, gaining their trust through ritualistic assurances, and using poisoned food, was used in these incidents.

Kamruddin reportedly learned these practices around 2010 in Uttar Pradesh under a self-styled “master.”

The Peeragarhi case surfaced when police were alerted to three people lying unconscious inside a parked car. They were rushed to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, where doctors declared them dead.

According to police, Baba prepared poison-laced laddoos and accompanied the victims from Loni to Delhi.

(With PTI inputs)