Kalyan rape, murder case: Residents grill up after spate of crimes
22 of the 28 families in the building where the 22-yr-old was killed have gone to their native place; 3 other cases of assault and a murder were registered in April in the area
A surge in the number of crimes in and around Sai Dham residential complex in Kalyan, residents are a rattled lot. The most recent in the list of crimes was the gruesome rape and murder of a 22-year-old woman on April 14.
When mid-day visited the complex yesterday, which has six wings, we found that in the B-wing, where the victim lived, 22 families out of 28 had left for their native place to remain safe.
“Since the incident, most of the residents were feeling unsafe, and went to their native place for some days. And those of us who stayed back have started guarding the building from 1-6 am,” said Sarvesh Pathak (34), a resident of the complex who works at a pharmaceutical firm.
The residents have also started installing CCTVs and grills in their balconies to keep themselves safe. Jai Lalwani (35), an assistant manager with a private firm staying on the seventh floor of the C-wing, told mid-day, “Since our flat is on the top floor, robbers can easily enter our house through the open balcony. We have been living here for over 3 years, but after the recent incident we got grills installed in the balcony. Residents of over 10 flats have got the grills installed within two days.”
Raghunath Putta (58), an Indian Navy officer residing in the complex, said, “Most of those who left were tenants, but we who own the flats can’t as this is all we have.” While talking about what happened on the day of the incident, he said, “The robbers used the drainage pipeline to climb up and since a sliding door of the balcony was open, they could get in.”
Krishna Mistry, another resident, in whose gallery the accused had hid after committing the crime, said, “I was sleeping in the bedroom and at 5:30 am I heard some noise. When I found them hiding in my gallery, I shooed them away suing an iron rod.” Mistry’s father said the accused entered their flat through a 2-ft gap in the grill.
Since no society has been formed owing to a dispute between the builder and the local corporator, the residents pooled in money for the installation of 24 CCTVs and iron fence around the complex.
Cop speak
Gulabrao Gore, senior police inspector, Khadakpada police station, said, “We have arrested the four accused and three of them have been remanded to police custody till April 24. While their leader, the minor, was sent to Bhiwandi remand home. We have also increased the patrolling in the area.”
The Thane Crime Branch on Monday arrested four people identified as Nitin Wagh (19), Nitesh alias Nitya Bhagwan Bhoir (20), Ravindra alias Ravi Wagh (20) and their 16-year-old leader. The crime branch after arresting the gang in the Kalyan case, found that they were involved in three more cases of assault and murder in the same area in April itself.
Accused’s families
mid-day also met with the accused’s families in Milind Nagar and Gauripada road in Khadakpada and found that the accused are school dropouts and known as the Waghya Gang in their locality.
“I work as a domestic help at five houses to look after my two sons after my husband died. I used to just sleep after a tiring day and did not get to interact with my children. I knew he was doing some odd job as he used to give some cash at home too. I had never thought that he would commit such a big offence,” said Usha Bhoir, accused Nitin Bhoir’s mother.
The residents of this area, who are tribals, deal in country liquor and are also addicted to it. “We were not aware of the crime until the cops came to our place to inform us about his arrest. Initially, we couldn’t believe that he could be involved in something as big as a murder as we thought he commits small thefts. But when he came along with the police and showed them the robbed laptop that he had hidden in a bag, we were shocked. We don’t even have the money to go to the court or hire an advocate,” said Ramesh Waghe, the father of an accused.
>The Thane police on Tuesday arrested a 16-year-old and his three accomplices near Kalyan for murdering and then raping a of a 22-year-old engineering graduate at her residence on 14 April.>
According to Mid Day, the accused, identified as Nitin Wagh (19), Nitesh alias Nitya Bhagwan Bhoir (20) and Ravindra alias Ravi Wagh (20), and their 16-year-old leader, are tribals from Bandarpada in Kalyan.
The victim, who had recently appeared for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) exam, was sleeping in the hall when the accused broke in through the kitchen window. When she tried to raise an alarm, the 16-year-old allegedly struck her on the head with a sword, a move that proved fatal for the victim, reported Mumbai Mirror.
It is alleged that they even raped her corpse before decamping with the victim's laptop, cellphone and jewellery.
The gang had begun their criminal lives with minor thefts, before moving on to more serious crimes. The Asian Age reported that a few months ago, the youngsters had formed a gang to snatch cellphones.
"Apparently, the 16-year-old boy became a gang leader by taking initiative while breaking into houses or attacking victims. According to sources, he did not think twice, which gave confidence to the other gang members," DNA quoted a Thane crime branch officer as saying.
Even though the gang leader is a minor, the police want him to be tried as an adult. According to The Times of India, Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh said that they will request the court to try him as an adult because of the gravity of the crime and the reign of terror the gang had unleashed in the Shahad-Kalyan belt.
This is the first time since the amendment of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act in 2015 that the police are set to seek the trial of a minor as an an adult.
Section 18 (3) of the amended law empowers the board to try a child as an adult if he/she has committed a serious offence.
16-year-old gang head arrested in rape and murder case
>Now-a- days young children are seen involved into the bigger crimes and ruining their life from early age. One such young gang leader of 16-year-old was arrested by the Thane Crime Branch for rape and murder case. It is demanded by the Crime Branch officers that they wanted the minor to be tried as an adult as he had led this attack, as well as three more cases of assault and murder. Read the whole story here.>
It looked like the Thane Crime Branch hit a jackpot when they arrested a gang of four criminals, which was headed by a 16-year-old boy, for allegedly raping and murdering a 22-year-old girl and stealing valuables worth Rs 1.6 lakh in Kalyan.
These four were also accused in three other recent cases in Thane and are identified as Nitin Wagh (19), Nitesh alias Nitya Bhagwan Bhoir (20), Ravindra alias Ravi Wagh (20) and their 16-year-old leader. The accused are tribals from Bandarpada in Kalyan.
Two sharp weapons, an Android mobile phone, a laptop, and gold chain have been taken into custody from the accused by the police.
The incident occurred when the gang broke into an apartment in Kalyan and killed a 22-year-old girl after the minor gang member raped her on April 14. Param Bir Singh, Commissioner of Police, Thane said that “The accused had walked away with her mobile phone and jewelry worth Rs 1.6 lakh.” The victim had recently appeared for MPSC (Maharashtra Public Service Commission) exams.
Nagesh Lohar, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Thane Crime Branch said, “The minor confessed that he had first assaulted the 22-year-old and then raped her. We are waiting for the post-mortem reports.” As the minor was the mastermind, cops said they will try that he be treated as an adult. Singh added, “We will appeal in the juvenile justice court to treat the minor as an adult as he was the main accused and mastermind of the gang.”
The victim used to live with her brother and sister-in-law. Her brother realized something was wrong when he heard someone shouting ‘chor, chor’ (thief, thief) from the flat below theirs.
As said by the police officials, “In his statement the brother told the police that he and his wife were sleeping in the bedroom, while the victim was in the hall. He found that his bedroom door was locked from outside. He phoned his neighbors, who then broke into his apartment and opened the door. He then found his sister lying dead in the hall. Her throat was slit and her clothes torn. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was declared dead.” The cops are now awaiting the victim’s medical reports, which will determine if she was raped or not.
Mobile helped to arrest
The accused were traced by the police through the victim’s mobile phone which they had stolen. “The accused did not know how to use the mobile phone. They removed the victim’s SIM card and put their own on the phone. We could still trace their location that helped us arrest them,” said Devidas Beware, senior police inspector, Central Crime Detection Unit, Thane Crime Branch.
ACP Lohar added, “It was a newly formed gang that had the minor as its head. They were committing crimes in want of a lavish life. Being from the same vicinity, they knew the buildings and the bylanes.”
More three cases were registered against the gang at Khadakpada police station.
The first one took place on April 8 when the gang allegedly assaulted two guards name Deepak Kumar Mahut and Sanjay Yadav at a Siddivinayak developer’s complex in Shahad. A case was registered under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
On late April, 9 nights, Deepak Bhoir, a guard at a Century Chemical office in Shahad, was murdered and his body was buried in the compound. The case against the accused was registered under Sections 302 (murder), 201 (Causing disappearance of evidence of offense, or giving false information to screen offender) and 34 of IPC.
On April 10, a resident of Mangeshi Paradise in Shahad, Sanjay Singh (28), when tried to stop the accused from robbing a mercury bulb in the morning, the gang assaulted him with a sharp weapon. This resulted in another case against them under Sections 326 (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 34 of IPC.
The gang with the help of a 16yr old accused has committed many crimes which cannot be taken lightly. The court will have to take it as a serious concern and treat all the gang members with ultimate and harsh punishment. Well, it’s still too shocking to believe that a minor boy has committed all these severe crimes.
Gang led by 16-year-old held in Kalyan rape and murder case
>Crime Branch officers said they wanted the minor to be tried as an adult as he had led this attack, as well as three more cases of assault and murder>
The Thane Crime Branch hit a jackpot on Monday when they arrested a gang of four criminals, headed by a 16-year-old boy, for allegedly raping and murdering a 22-year-old girl and stealing valuables worth Rs 1.6 lakh in Kalyan. Turns out, these four were accused in three other recent cases in Thane.
The accused, identified as Nitin Wagh (19), Nitesh alias Nitya Bhagwan Bhoir (20), Ravindra alias Ravi Wagh (20) and their 16-year-old leader, are tribals from Bandarpada in Kalyan.
On April 14, the gang broke into an apartment in Kalyan and killed a 22-year-old girl after the minor gang member raped her. The victim had recently appeared for MPSC (Maharashtra Public Service Commission) exams. “The accused had walked away with her mobile phone and jewellery worth Rs 1.6 lakh,” said Param Bir Singh, Commissioner of Police, Thane.
“The minor confessed that he had first assaulted the 22-year-old and then raped her. We are waiting for the post-mortem reports,” said Nagesh Lohar, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Thane Crime Branch. Since the minor was mastermind, cops said they will try that he be treated as an adult. “We will appeal in the juvenile justice court to treat the minor as an adult as he was the main accused and mastermind of the gang,” added Singh.
The victim lived with her brother and sister-in-law and her brother realised something was wrong when he heard someone shout ‘chor, chor’ (thief, thief) from the flat below theirs.
“In his statement the brother told the police that he and his wife were sleeping in the bedroom, while the victim was in the hall. He found that his bedroom door was locked from outside. He phoned his neighbours, who then broke into his apartment and opened the door. He then found his sister lying dead in the hall. Her throat was slit and her clothes torn. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was declared dead,” said a police official. The cops are awaiting the victim’s medical reports, which will ascertain if she was raped or not.
Mobile led to arrests
Police traced the accused through the victim’s mobile phone they had stolen. “The accused did not know how to use the mobile phone. They removed the victim’s SIM card and put their own in the phone. We could still trace their location that helped us arrest them,” said Devidas Gheware, senior police inspector, Central Crime Detection Unit, Thane Crime Branch.
The police have seized two sharp weapons, an Android mobile phone, a laptop and gold chain from the accused.
“It was a newly formed gang that had the minor as its head. They were committing crimes in want of a lavish life. Being from the same vicinity, they knew the buildings and the bylanes,” added ACP Lohar.
Other cases
Three other cases were registered against the gang at Khadakpada police station. The first one took place on April 8 when the gang allegedly assaulted two watchmen — Deepak Kumar Mahut and Sanjay Yadav — at a Siddivinayak developer’s complex in Shahad. A case was registered under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
On late April 9 night, Deepak Bhoir, a watchman at a Century Chemical office in Shahad, was murdered and his body was buried in the compound. The case against the accused was registered under Sections 302 (murder), 201 (Causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) and 34 of IPC.
On April 10, when Sanjay Singh (28), a resident of Mangeshi Paradise in Shahad, tried to stop the accused from stealing a mercury bulb in the morning, the gang assaulted him with a sharp weapon. This resulted in another case against them under Sections 326 (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 34 of IPC.