The pattern was identical. Over a period of four months, eight people were allegedly invited for evening drinks to 46-year-old Ramsahay Jaiswal’s home, and died a day or two later. When a ninth man survived and alerted the authorities, police realised they were potentially dealing with a serial killer in the small Chhattisgarh village of Kharve.
On the surface, Jaiswal led an ordinary life in the village in Baloda Bazar district – he lived with his wife and two children, and ran a small general store nearby.
According to police, however, he allegedly held grudges against several villagers for a variety of reasons – he believed one was eyeing his wife, another had abused him, and yet others were in various disputes with him or had allegedly made casteist remarks against him.
On Monday, he was arrested for the alleged murder of eight people and the attempted murder of one.
The ‘method’
Early this year, police said, he carried out a trial run, allegedly making a dog the first victim of his alleged modus operandi – poisoning with the use of suhaga, or borax. He allegedly bought the substance on three occasions over four months.
After trying it out on the dog, he allegedly decided to mix the substance, generally used as rat poison or insecticide in the village, with liquor and serve it to those he wanted to kill.
For this, he would first invite his victims for a drink in the evening and ensure that they came alone, police said. He would then serve them liquor allegedly laced with the toxic substance.
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According to police, eight people died within a day or two of having drinks with Jaiswal. In some cases, he helped their families take them to hospitals and attended their funerals, officers said. None of the families suspected any foul play, as per police. Many of the victims were not even taken to hospitals as their families in the village did not initially take their symptoms seriously, and they died quickly afterwards, officials said.
The beginning
The series of deaths began on February 6, with 58-year-old Badri Patel. Police said Jaiswal allegedly had a petty dispute with Patel, whom he accused of abusing him and constantly nagging him to provide liquor.
Jaiswal allegedly called Patel for a drink and gave him poison-laced alcohol. Patel later died at his home, and his last rites were soon conducted by his family. Police said that when Patel’s death went unnoticed, Jaiswal ostensibly gained confidence and allegedly went on a spree.
The subsequent murders came thick and fast.
Buthalu Sahu, 60, was killed on February 20. Police claimed that Jaiswal held a grudge against Sahu as the latter had allegedly insulted his Kalaar community. On March 12, 60-year-old Budhram Jaiswal was killed, with police claiming that the victim had land-related disputes with the accused. Then came the death of Chhattu Ram Sahu on March 20. According to police, the accused allegedly believed that Chhattu had eyes for his wife. Vinod Kumar Sahu, 38, died on March 31, with police saying that Jaiswal accused Vinod of repeatedly abusing him. On April 28, 55-year-old Gajanand Manjhi, whom the accused allegedly suspected of using occult practices against him, also died. The very next day came the death of Chaituram Sahu, 58, from whom the accused had allegedly borrowed Rs 50,000. The last of the series of deaths came on May 14, when 41-year-old Mahetru Ram Sahu, who was accused of repeatedly taunting the accused, died in the same manner as the seven others.
The unravelling
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On April 14, Jaiswal allegedly invited Kartik Kumhar, with whom he had purportedly had a dispute in the past, for drinks, police said. When Kumhar got back home after having the drinks, he began feeling unwell and was admitted to a hospital.
Kumhar then told his family that he had drinks with Jaiswal before falling ill. On June 6, the family and other villagers approached police, raising suspicion about Jaiswal.
“After receiving a complaint, we immediately launched an inquiry. Seven bodies were exhumed and sent to Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Memorial Hospital, Raipur, for post-mortem examinations. A special medico-legal team conducted autopsies, and DNA samples, viscera, and other forensic evidence were preserved for examination. We thoroughly investigated each death,” said Inspector General of Police, Raipur Range, Amresh Mishra.
“Our team continuously questioned villagers and monitored developments, while another team gathered technical and forensic evidence,” Mishra said.
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Police have also identified the men who supplied the suhaga to Jaiswal, who allegedly told him he wanted to kill rats.
