Before a whistle-blower’s arrest as accomplice, a tip-off that led Gujarat police to a serial killer

On why Gohil, whose five-day police remand ends on Tuesday (December 24), was arrested, Rajkot Rural Superintendent of Police Himkar Singh says, “While working undercover as a driver, Gohil witnessed Chavda murder four members of the Mukassam family but failed to inform the police. He only had a change of heart after discovering Chavda’s plans to kill a businessman known to him. Also, he was scared that Chavda would kill him next since he was an eyewitness.”

On Chavda’s death in custody on December 8, A B Valand, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad City Police’s M Division, had told The Indian Express earlier, “A panel post-mortem was conducted on Chavda’s body. We are still awaiting the report, which will include the cause of his death.”

Before a whistle-blower’s arrest as accomplice, a tip-off that led Gujarat police to a serial killer.

Talking about the Mukassam case, Inspector S N Parmar of Paddhari police station says Nagma Mukassam was the first to be killed for allegedly pressuring Chavda to marry her. “Since Chavda was already married, he killed her, dismembered her body and buried it in Morbi’s Wankaner. After Nagma went missing, her family (father Kader Ali Mukassam, mother Farida Mukassam and brother Asif Mukassam) reached out to Chavda for help. Afraid that they would discover the truth, he took the trio to the Mota Rampar forest in Paddhari on the pretext of conducting an occult ritual and killed them,” says Parmar.

The three bodies were discovered on May 22, 2024, in an auto rickshaw. Since a “suicide note” was recovered, their deaths were initally ruled as a suicide, the police say, adding that Chavda’s confession allegedly led to the recovery of Nagma’s dismembered body.

Following Chavda’s death, the Wankaner City Police booked Gohil and two others on December 17 in connection with Nagma’s murder. With Gohil in the custody of Rajkot Rural Police, the Wankaner City Police arrested Chavda’s wife Sonal from her home in Wadhwan town and his nephew Shaktiraj Bharatbhai. At the end of their five-day police remand, Sonal and Shaktiraj were on Monday sent to judicial custody.

Jigar Gohil in custody of Rajkot Rural Police. (Express photo by Chirag Chotaliya)

Inspector Hansa V Ghela of Wankaner City Police says, “Sonal told us that Gohil and Shaktiraj were involved in Nagma’s death. Shaktiraj even helped his uncle bury Nagma’s body. We have taken DNA samples from Nagma’s maternal grandmother and maternal aunt to confirm the victim’s identity. We have also seized a knife, a spade, an electric saw (allegedly used to dismember the body) and a pair of cutters, which have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). Samples from Chavda’s car, which has also been seized, have been sent to the laboratory too.”

Handwriting samples have also been collected from Chavda and Gohil’s residences for comparison with the note found in the auto rickshaw, a police officer says. After his custody at Paddhari police station ends on Tuesday (December 24), Gohil is likely to be arrested by Morbi’s Wankaner City Police for his alleged role in Nagma’s murder. Stating that Sonal knew all about the 12 murders, Inspector Ghela adds, “Her version matches with Chavda’s confession.”

Meanwhile, inspector R K Dhuliya of Ahmedabad’s Sarkhej Police, who is investigating Chavda’s alleged attempt to murder the businessman, which led to his arrest, says, “It appears that Chavda killed only 12 people, but investigations are still on. We have written to all police stations concerned regarding his confession and they have started their own investigations. Among his earliest victims are three members of his own family — his paternal grandmother, mother and paternal uncle. He allegedly killed them in Wadhwan, Surendranagar, over 14 years ago. We have no way of confirming the reasons behind their deaths.

Though Chavda confessed to the murder of Raj Bavaji, a Kutch-based priest, the police say there is no official record of his death since it took place in 2020, during the pandemic. According to Chavda’s confession, he murdered Bavaji during a reconciliation meeting between them by mixing in his tea sodium nitrate, which affects red blood cells, leading to cardiac arrest and even death.

Inspector A R Gohil of Anjar station under Kutch East Police says, “When Bavaji was declared dead at a hospital, the doctor suggested a post-mortem. However, his family refused, citing their religious beliefs and gave him samadhi (burial in an upright position). His family didn’t approach us after his death, which is why we don’t have an accidental death report on him. Though they have still not come to us, we have conducted our own enquiries.”

Jigar Gohil in custody

One case that has been reopened is the 2012 murder of Gohil’s brother Vivek, says Inspector N H Savseta of Aslali police station in Rural Ahmedabad.

Allegedly killed in a hit-and-run, Gohil has always maintained that his brother Vivek was murdered by Chavda. An FIR was filed by Aslali police station in 2012 in connection with Vivek’s death after the post-mortem had revealed the presence of toxic levels of sodium nitrate in his body.

Another case that has been reopened by B Division Police in Surendranagar concerns the alleged murders of Chavda’s neighbours Dipesh Patadiya, his wife Prafulla Patadiya and their daughter Utsavi Patadiya, whose bodies were found in a canal on March 11, 2023.

While Inspector M H Pathan was unavailable for a comment, sub-inspector A R Dangar of B Division Police told The Indian Express, “The Patadiya family had faith in Chavda’s occult prowess and approached him regularly for advice. In March last year, he called them to the canal on the pretext of conducting a ritual. He killed them using sodium nitrate and threw their bodies in the canal.”

Since Chavda’s wife is in custody in Morbi, the B Division Police say they are yet to file an FIR in the case. Inspector Dangar says, “We are still collecting statements and evidence. Also, we are waiting to question Sonal in connection with this case. Her interrogation will help shed light on whether Gohil was involved in this case too.”