Drunk, mentally-ill man kills six without motive

Central Zone police arrested a psychopathic killer who murdered six persons in areas under the Narayanaguda, Nallakunta and Saifabad police station limits in the last six months.

The accused, Rama Chandra Rathore, 55, is a native of Gulbarga district in Karnataka. “He used to commit murders under the influence of alcohol and had no motive behind the killings,” said City Police Commissioner, Mr A.K. Khan.

The police said Rathore assaulted Y. Krishna Yadav, a 60-year-old watchman with a boulder on July 2. Krishna died while undergoing treatment in a private hospital. On July 7, he attacked G. Gopal, 60, and Anjaneya Manga 35, at Padma Colony in Nallakunta, while they were sleeping, and killed them.

On July 12, he murdered L. Tarun, 28, a supplier, in a hotel at Narayanaguda and killed a security guard, Ashok Kumar Jha, 45, on August 1 in Khairatabad. On August 28, he hurled a boulder at B. Naresh, a 19-year-old student from Barkatpura, killing him.

“After killing Naresh, Rathore took his cell phone and sold it to a person in the city. The police trapped the person to whom the cell phone was sold and from him got a description of Rama Chandra Rathore. As one of the vagabonds told us that he belongs to Gulbarga, we sent a team there and with the help of the local police were able to arrest him,” said Central Zone DCP Mr Akun Sabharwal.

“We found it very difficult to detect these six murder cases as there was no motive behind the murders,” said Mr Khan. “Rama Chandra Rathore also confessed to having committed thefts and robberies in the city and in Karnataka and Maharashtra. As similar cases were registered in Gulbarga town, we suspect Rathore’s hand behind them. However, we are investigating them,” said Mr Khan. It is learnt that Rathore, who lost his parents in childhood, was alone and mentally disturbed.

The Narayanguda police had already remanded a person in the murder case of G. Gopal and Anjaneya Manga. Mr Khan said the officials who made the arrest would be suspended if the arrested person is innocent.