A chilling multi-state manhunt has culminated in the arrest of Rahul Karamveer Jat, a resident of Rohtak, Haryana, for the rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman in Gujarat. However, this arrest is only the tip of a horrifying iceberg. Police investigations have uncovered a string of disturbing crimes allegedly committed by Jat, linking him to at least four other murders, most of which occurred on trains across various states within a single month.
Jat’s modus operandi involved preying on vulnerable individuals traveling alone. According to police statements, he confessed to targeting lone passengers, robbing and murdering them. He specifically targeted women in coaches designated for differently-abled individuals, subjecting them to rape before killing them. The trail of violence extends across several states. Just a day before his arrest, Jat allegedly robbed and murdered a woman near Secunderabad railway station in Telangana. In October, he allegedly committed a similar crime near Solapur railway station in Maharashtra, raping and murdering another woman. Furthermore, police reports indicate that he fatally stabbed an elderly man aboard the Katihar Express near Howrah station in West Bengal, and also confessed to killing a train passenger in Mulki, Karnataka. The accused’s ability to evade capture for so long highlights the significant challenge he presented to law enforcement.
The suspect’s transient lifestyle, characterized by sleeping on railway platforms and trains, further complicated the investigation. Authorities faced considerable difficulty tracking his movements, necessitating a complex and extensive investigation. The breakthrough came on November 24th, when Jat was apprehended at Vapi Railway Station in Gujarat’s Valsad district. This arrest was the culmination of an intensive manhunt involving multiple state police units, utilizing footage from over 2,000 CCTV cameras across various districts within Gujarat. According to Superintendent of Police (SP) Karanraj Vaghela, as reported by NDTV, the joint operation between local and railway police successfully apprehended Jat, who had been traveling extensively and constantly changing his location.
The investigation began with the murder of a woman near Udvada railway station on November 14th. The Valsad police launched an investigation, which revealed that the woman had been raped. Crucial evidence emerged from CCTV footage at the station, which identified Jat as the suspect. The footage captured him wearing the same clothes as those found near the crime scene and, chillingly, depicted him calmly eating at the station after committing the heinous act. SP Vaghela stated that Jat had visited Vapi to collect his salary from a hotel where he worked, seizing the opportunity to commit the crime against the woman who was returning home from tuition. The arrest of Rahul Karamveer Jat highlights the serious issue of violence against women in India and the critical need for improved safety measures for passengers utilizing public transportation.
