The Valsad police apprehended a 30-year-old Haryana resident, on Monday in connection with the rape and murder of a 19-year-old college student. The incident took place on November 14 near Udvada town. During interrogation, police found out that Rahul was a serial killer wanted in at least four additional murders committed aboard trains in Karnataka, West Bengal and Telangana.
On November 14, Rahul alias Bholu Karmvir Ishwar Jat travelled to Vapi and boarded a local train to Udvada to collect an outstanding salary from a hotel where he had previously been employed. On Udvada-Pardi Road, he spotted the victim walking near the railway tracks. The girl, a resident of Motiwada village, was returning home while speaking to a friend on the phone.
Rahul followed her, attacked her from behind and dragged her into a mango orchard. There, he raped and strangled her to death.
A forensic post-mortem conducted at Surat’s New Civil Hospital confirmed sexual assault and strangulation as the cause of death.
Police recovered a bag, clothing, and other belongings near the scene. Using footage from over 2,000 CCTV cameras in Vapi, Valsad, Surat and Udvada, officers identified Rahul. A jail officer in Surat’s Lajpore Central Jail recognised him as a known criminal.
Rahul’s extensive criminal history was revealed through the Inter-Operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS). Superintendent of Police Karanraj Vaghela detailed the operation leading to his arrest: “He was apprehended on Sunday night at the Vapi railway station parking lot during a joint operation by local and railway police. Rahul frequently changed locations, sleeping on railway platforms to avoid detection.”
Police have linked Rahul to at least four additional cases of robbery and murder on trains and at railway stations across Karnataka, West Bengal, Telangana and Maharashtra.
Vaghela added that just a day before his arrest, Rahul allegedly looted and killed a woman on a train near Secunderabad railway station in Telangana.
Rahul, a native of Mokhra Khas, Pana Shyam village in Haryana’s Rohtak district, has a history of violent crimes. He was previously jailed in 2018, 2019 and 2024 for offences involving truck theft and illegal arms smuggling across Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
He primarily targeted individuals travelling alone, committing robberies and rapes. The serial killer was known to prey on passengers in the coaches designated for differently-abled travellers, complicating efforts to apprehend him.
On October 25, 2024, Rahul allegedly strangled a co-passenger to death on the Bengaluru-Murdeshwar train after an argument over smoking a bidi. He looted the victim’s belongings before disembarking. The case was registered at Mulki Police Station, Mangalore.
On November 19, in Katihar Express, Rahul stabbed a 60-year-old man multiple times, looted his belongings and fled. The Howrah GRP Police recovered the weapon used in the crime.
On November 14, Rahul allegedly strangled a woman to death on the Mangalore Special Express near Secunderabad. He looted her cash, luggage and phone.
In October 2023, Rahul confessed to raping and murdering a woman travelling alone in the differently-abled coach of the Pune-Kanyakumari train near Solapur railway station.
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