Serial killer sexually assaulted as a child, may have triggered spree: Police

The 22-year-old alleged serial killer, who was arrested in Gurugram three days ago, is a victim of child molestation. He was sexually assaulted by a male relative

The 22-year-old alleged serial killer, who was arrested in Gurugram three days ago, is a victim of child molestation. He was sexually assaulted by a male relative when he was six years old, the police said, adding that this may have triggered the killing spree in which at least 10 persons were killed in Gurugram, Delhi, and Bihar.

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The police said that he only targeted men and had no interest in women. He used to carry a set of knives to stab his targets and only targeted people from the lower middle class, who were in distress or expressed frustrations.

The police said that it has been challenging to track and arrest Mohammad Razi (22), as all these three murder cases he was involved in were blind cases. There was no personal or professional enmity and there was no CCTV footage to help them identify the suspect.

KK Rao, the commissioner of police, said that as Razi was smart enough to evade being identified but circumstantial evidence and secret informers helped them nab him.

On November 26, Razi was searching for a target when he saw a man sitting near the sewer pipe in Sector 47 ground, near the state vigilance office. Razi sat near the man and started interacting with him.

“He introduced himself as a needy person who had come all the way from Bihar in search of work and did a storytelling session, saying he was thrown out of the house due to financial issues and now, he is left with no money to make ends meet. He was carrying a whisky bottle, which he offered to the victim and after they consumed almost half the bottle, he started abusing him and stabbed him at least six times. He chopped his neck, packed the head in a paper and later in polythene, and walked to Kanhai village, which is four kilometres from the spot,” said Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime).

The victim was identified as Rakesh Kumar of Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. His identity was established from an Aadhaar card found near the body.

Razi told the police he went to the residence of one Mohsin Khan, a construction contractor who had hired him for an ongoing project near Sohna Road. “He was fired from the job as he was found stealing construction material and iron rods from the site. He was carrying a grudge against Khan and planned to frame him. He went to Khan’s room but found his room locked. So, he left the head in front of his house to mislead the police and returned to Sector 47,” said Sangwan.

Razi kept a close watch on police movement in Sector 47, when they were searching for the head in nearby bushes and “enjoyed every moment”, according to the police.

He washed his knife and wiped his hands with a towel that he carried in his bag, along with a set of clothes. He kept changing locations and was confident that he would not be caught as he was not using a mobile phone.

During questioning, Razi revealed that he has worked in Nepal, Rajasthan, Delhi, Gurugram and Uttar Pradesh, and wanted to travel across the country to kill people in all cities, the police said. “He wanted to become famous and wanted to be known as the most dangerous serial killer, and his target was 100 murders. He kept his lucky knife always with him and said he would take the decision of killing only after three drinks,” said Sangwan.

Rao said he has worked in Kalanki, six kilometres from Kathmandu in Nepal, where he was working on an underpass project between 2018 and 2020, before he returned to his village. He is the eldest of five siblings in his family and has two younger brothers and sisters, each.

“We are investigating to get more details of other cases with his involvement. A team will be sent to his home town and we are coordinating with our counterparts to know of similar cases reported in their areas,” he said.

Razi was sent to 14 days in judicial custody after his remand ended on Saturday, the police said.