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Gujarat: ‘Serial killer’ arrested for rape-murder of 19-year-old woman
The Haryana native was arrested after the 19-year-old girl's body was found on November 14 near the tracks close to Udvada railway station
An alleged serial killer involved in murders across four states was arrested by the Gujarat police for the rape and murder of a 19-year-old girl in Valsad district.
Rahul Jat, from Rohtak, Haryana, was caught by the police after the 19-year-old girl's body was found on November 14 near the tracks close to the Udvada railway station.
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The teenager was returning home from tuitions in the evening when she was attacked, raped and murdered, officials said.
A day before his arrest, Jat had allegedly robbed and murdered a woman on a train near Secunderabad railway station in Telangana, an official told PTI.
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"Rahul Jat was held from the parking lot of Vapi railway station in Valsad 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," said superintendent of police, Karanraj Vaghela.
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The police revealed that in October, he had raped and murdered a woman on a train near Solapur railway station in Maharashtra. He also stabbed an elderly man to death on Katihar express train near Howrah railway station in West Bengal.
Jat faces accusations of murdering a train passenger in Mulki in Karnataka as well.
SP Vaghela stated that Jat had more than a dozen cases registered against him in Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
“Jat travelled on trains and committed loot and murder. He visited Surat, Valsad and Vapi four to five times in the last one year. He had come here to collect his salary from a hotel where he worked. He raped and murdered the 19-year-old girl during this visit,” he told the agency.
The police caught Jat after a massive search involving police units from different states and checking of footage of 2000 CCTV cameras in Vapi, Valsad, Surat and Udvada. Footage from a CCTV camera gave the police a clear picture of Rahul Jat.
The police said Jat was jailed from 2018-19 and 2024 in cases related to truck theft and illegal arms smuggling in Rajasthan, Haryana, UP and Uttarakhand.
They added that he looted people whenever he found them alone and raped women, especially in the coaches for differently-abled passengers. Nabbing him proved tough; he kept moving and mostly slept at railway platforms and in trains.
