Goa Police arrest two, say serial murders solved

Goa Police arrest two, say serial murders solved

Preetu Nair, TNN

Panaji:The arrest of two persons the Goa police have solved the mystery behind four serial killings in the state. While three women were killed and then there bodies burnt, the fourth woman’s head was crushed.

On Friday, police team picked up Chandrakant Talwar, 35, from St Inez and Syron Rodrigues, 20, from Chimbel from Mumbai, where they were hiding. They were arrested for their alleged role in the murder of the Evita Rodrigues, 16, of Taleigao. Evita’s half-burnt, half-naked body was found at Verna on Monday.

Further investigations revealed that the duo had either strangulated or smothered the three woman and then burnt them, said police sources. Only one woman’s head was smashed. Their motive it appears was to commit theft, said police sources. While a 61-year-old fisherwoman’s body was found at Merces on Monday, two unknown bodies of young women were found at Mapusa on Tuesday.

“Preliminary investigations have revealed that the duo are involved in all the murder cases”, said a senior police official.

DIG Ravindra Yadav, who is coordinating the with the various police teams investigating the murders said, “It is the Goa police’s team effort that has shown results and we have managed to crack the cases within 2 days. We got reliable information that the two accused were in Mumbai and we dispersed two teams from the Crime branch to Mumbai”. However, he refused to elaborate further.

Police spokesperson SP AV Deshpande said, "The Goa police team picked up two Goan youth from Mumbai in connection with the murder. Only after thorough investigations can we reveal anything further".

Police sources explaining the modus operandi of the duo said that the two would ask people for lift in their car. “They would travel together in a car along with a woman and prey on innocent woman. The motif was to rob,” said police sources. This came to light as the duo had tried the same trick with a woman from Porvorim.

“They asked this lady from Porvorim, if she wanted a lift in their Alto car. Scared, she refused to accept the lift and ran away from the spot,” said police sources. Incidentally, from October 7 to October 12, they were suspected to be staying in a hotel in Mayem and a day after committing the murders, they had left the hotel. Talwar’s name is also their in the hotel register, said police sources.

Sources revealed that the duo were earlier part of Mansio gang. However, after Mansio’s death, Talwar took over the reigns of the gang. The gang was involved in a jewellery theft at Marcel on September 24, 2008. While Syron was arrested and later released on bail, Talwar was absconding. The matter is still pending in the Court.

It is also alleged that they are involved in sex rackets. "Syron was close to the minor Evita and his girlfriend is Evita’s friend," added police sources. However, the police is verifying whether the reason behind killing Evita was just for theft.

October 17,2009, The Times of India, Goa edition