Slain police informer maintained diaries, got tattoos as he was forgetful

The police have now decided to question all the 22 persons named by Waghmare, including policemen, journalists, and his son and daughter-in-law

MUMBAI: The Worli police have found that the murdered Right to Information (RTI) activist and former police informer, Guru Waghmare, had tattooed the names of 22 “enemies” on his body and used to maintain a record his daily chores and transactions in several diaries because he was in the habit of forgetting things, much like the protagonist in the Aamir Khan-starrer Ghajini.

Murdered police informer had 22 names of enemies tattooed on thighs

“We have found that since the deceased had the habit of forgetting, he used to maintain several dairies where he mentioned everything that happened on a daily basis in detail, even if it was very minor,” said a police officer. Waghmare had an elaborate system of making notes, he said – he would write in green ink if his day was good, blue if his day was average and red if his day was bad; he would also make a note of the names of people due to whom his day was spoilt. He had tattooed 22 names on his thigh for the same reason, the police officer added.

Waghmare was stabbed to death at a Worli spa on Tuesday night, following which the police arrested three persons, including Santosh Sherekar, 54, the spa owner whose name was tattooed on the deceased’s thigh. Sherekar had hired Nalasopara resident and spa owner Firoz Ansari to kill Waghmare for a payment of ₹6 lakh, said police, adding that Firoz subsequently roped in his friend Shakib Ansari for the job. All three accused have been remanded in police custody till July 30.

The police have now decided to question all the 22 persons named by Waghmare – including policemen, journalists, people related to the spa business, and his son and daughter-in-law – to ascertain why he counted them as his enemies.

“Our investigation is ongoing and we have the custody of the accused till July 30. So, we are hopeful that various things be clarified by then,” said the police officer quoted earlier.

In the probe so far, the police have found that Firoz nursed a grievance against Waghmare, whom he blamed for the closure of his spa business in Nalasopara.

“Firoz had taken a loan to start the business and the closure angered him,” said a police officer. “He kept just ₹70,000 out of the amount paid by Sherekar for killing Waghmare and gave the rest to Shakib,” he added.