Raman Raghav terrorized 1960s Bombay, murdering at least 41 people.
After being caught in 1968, he confessed, revealing hidden weapons.
Initially sentenced to death, later diagnosed with schizophrenia, his sentence was commuted to life in prison.
The city of dreams, Bombay, was living a nightmare in the 1960s. The streets that glistened with lights and movie posters became a hunting ground for one of India’s most feared killers, Raman Raghav. The city was shrouded in horror, and the streets emptied at dusk. He confessed to murdering 41 people, later becoming the subject of TV shows and films. The Investigating Officer Ramakant Kulakarni wrote about the case in his book “Footprints in the Sands of Crime” saying “the murders were motiveless”.
Between 1965 and 1968, Bombay witnessed a series of brutal and mysterious murders, with the numbers ranging up to 19. He targeted people living in temporary huts and sleeping on footpaths as the victims. He killed men, women, and even infants were not spared. He struck when the entire city was asleep, creeping through the shadows and delivering fatal blows to the head with a hard and blunt instrument. Panic gripped the dazzling city as the number of dead bodies piled up.
The fear spawned stories that claimed he possessed supernatural abilities. Some said he could change his form into a cat or a parrot and disappear from the scene. The streets were patrolled by over 2,000 policemen and locals in an attempt to track down the killer, but nothing seemed to work. The person behind the crime seemed as mysterious as his acts.
As per reports, Raman was tall, well-built, and hailed from Tamil Nadu, with only a few years of schooling. Nothing was known about his childhood or family, making him a nomadic man with no roots. He was once arrested as a suspect in the murders but was later released owing to a lack of evidence.
However, a second round of murders began yet again in 1968. Fate stepped in when the man was spotted lurking near a crime scene by a sub-inspector from Investigating Officer Ramakant Kulkarni’s team. Raghav was then taken into custody for the second time, as he matched the description given by survivors. He did not say a single word for the first two days of interrogation. But on the third day, when an officer asked him what he wanted, he answered almost instantly, saying “Murga” (chicken). He further demanded a prostitute, which he himself remarked would not be permitted for someone in police custody. He then asked for hair oil, a comb, and a mirror.
He then behaved like a normal human being, massaging the oil into his scalp, enjoying its fragrance, combing his hair, and admiring himself in the mirror. After indulging in these simple human acts, he asked the officers what they wanted from him. When they said they wanted to know about the murders, he led them to the bushes in Aarey Colony, where he had hidden his weapons like the crowbars, knives, and many other tools. He then confessed to killing a total of 41 people, though the police suspected the number to be higher. He even made a bizarre claim that he murdered voluntarily under God’s command.
The case was then taken to court, where his lawyers argued that he was not sane and was unaware that killing people was wrong or contrary to the law. The lawyer’s statement was contradicted by the police surgeon, who declared him to be mentally fit. This led to him receiving a death sentence from the court, which labelled him “an extremely wicked man with a brutal mentality.”
However, the case reopened when a panel of psychiatrists diagnosed him with schizophrenia and delusional tendencies. Owing to this, his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1987. He had already spent 18 years in jail, confined from the world he once terrorized. He later died that same year from kidney failure.
The horrors that marked one of the darkest chapters in Bombay’s history were etched into several books, documentaries, and films, including the 2016 movie Raman Raghav 2.0, directed by Anurag Kashyap.
The story of Raman Raghav still sends chills down people’s spines, blurring the fine line between normalcy and madness. It raises questions about how a human who appears ordinary can harbour something so violent within. The name that once forced the city to stay awake has now become a whispered warning across generations. [Rh/SY]
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