Balodabazar, 23 June

A gruesome serial murder spree orchestrated by a "psycho killer" gripped a village in Chhattisgarh's Balodabazar district, where a shopkeeper allegedly used lethal doses of borax powder to poison eight men over a period of four months, police said on Tuesday.

The 46-year-old accused, Ram Sahay Jaiswal, evaded suspicion for months by helping grieving families and even attending the funerals of his victims, police said.

He was arrested on Tuesday following two weeks of investigation and over a month after he killed his last victim.

The chilling murders took place between February and May this year in Kharve village under Kasdol police station limits, officials said.

According to police, Jaiswal, said to be a "psycho killer", carried out the murders driven by feelings of revenge, mental frustration and long-standing grudges against the victims over minor disputes.

While the deaths had initially been treated as natural or due to some illness, villagers and relatives of the deceased approached police earlier this month, expressing suspicion about Jaiswal's possible involvement, they said.

Given the seriousness of the allegations, police launched a detailed probe, exhuming the body of Jaiswal's last victim, Mahetaru Sahu, who died on 14 May, on 13 June, Balodabazar-Bhatapara Superintendent of Police (in-charge) OP Sharma said.

He said that subsequently, six more bodies were exhumed and sent to Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar Memorial Hospital (Mekahara) in Raipur for post-mortem examinations, while the remains of one Budhram Jaiswal could not be recovered as he had been cremated.

A special medico-legal team conducted the autopsies and preserved DNA samples, viscera and other forensic evidence for laboratory analysis, Sharma said.

Police formed multiple teams to investigate the deaths, questioning villagers and monitoring developments on the ground, gathering technical and forensic evidence, he said.

Investigations revealed that the accused had taken 'suhaga' (borax powder) from a villager, claiming that he had needed to kill rats, he said.

During questioning, Jaiswal initially denied any role, but eventually confessed that he targeted the victims one after another over old disputes, verbal altercations, allegations of witchcraft and other personal grievances, the senior official said.

Jaiswal first tested the poisonous substance on a dog, and after the animal died, he allegedly carried out his first killing on 6 February, when he served liquor laced with borax powder to Badri, a man with whom he frequently quarrelled, police said in a statement.

Encouraged by the first crime, the accused allegedly targeted Buthalu on 20 February over a previous dispute linked to community issues and an assembly election-related dispute, it said.

On March 12, Jaiswal allegedly poisoned Chhattu Ram, whom he suspected of having improper intentions towards his wife, and within days, he targeted another villager, Budhram, on 20 March due to a land-related dispute and rivalry.

Vinod Kumar allegedly became the next victim on 31 March after repeated verbal altercations with the accused, and Jaiswal similarly killed Gajanand with poisoned liquor on 28 April, suspecting him of practising black magic against him and causing him financial troubles, police stated in a release.

According to investigators, Jaiswal had borrowed Rs 50,000 from another victim, Chaituram, and allegedly killed him on 29 April to avoid repaying interest on the loan, and murdered his last victim, Mahetaru Ram, on 14 May.

Police, however, said that not all of Jaiswal's targets died; one of his victims, Kartik, survived after consuming poisoned liquor. His family admitted him to the hospital after he fell ill, and he later recovered.

The accused helped families to take victims to hospitals and even attended their funerals to avoid suspicion, it said.

For months, villagers attributed the deaths to illness, bad luck or coincidence. Suspicion grew only after residents realised that all eight deceased men had reportedly met Jaiswal shortly before their deaths.

Kartik, the survivor, also allegedly told police that Jaiswal had given him poisoned liquor, it said.

Based on the findings so far, police have registered eight cases of murder and one case of attempted murder against the accused.

The forensic reports are still awaited, and further investigation is underway, police said.