Gandhinagar serial killer wanted in three murder cases, held

On Sunday a team of Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested Gandhinagar's most wanted serial killer related to three murder cases that took place between between October 14 and January 26 in Gandhinagar, where the victims were shot on their back of the head by the accused and their valuables looted.

The accused identified as Monish aka Madan Maali,36, is a resident of Sarkhej and native of Rajasthan, who who runs a loading autorickshaw and works as a labourer. During the investigation, it was revealed that in the year 1995 Maali had left his father's house and reached Ahmedabad, where he got married and has a daughter , who are residing at Sarkhej area.

In 1999, Maali was arrested for stealing a cycle, later in 2007, he was arrested in another theft case and was jailed for two years. In 2016 he had broken into a house located in Sabarmati D-Cabin from where he stole a pistol and cartridge.

B P Rojiya, Dy SP of ATS said, "The stolen pistol was used by the accused to scare people and loot them in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar areas. When someone refused to bow to his demands, he used to shoot them on the head and would steal their valuables."

In the case of Gandhinagar murders, all the three victims had refused to bow down to his demands, when he shot them and fled the spot. The investigation also revealed that Maali had looted several people at gun pointnear Gandhinagar- Ahmedabad Canal area.

"In February cops had posted a sketch and photo of the accused in the city, during which the accused saw the poster at a petrol pump and later changed his appearance so that police won't catch him. He had even stopped contacting people outside and stopped using his mobile," said Rojiya

Further investigations also revealed that the accused used two stolen vehicles to commit the crime. He had learned to use the pistol by watching the YouTube videos and even practiced firing near Gandhinagar Canal.

MODUS OPERANDI

• Two murder cases were lodged with the Adalaj police station, while one was filed with Infocity police station. The murderer used the same modus operandi and shot the victim from behind.  
   
• The second murder took place near the Koba circle, where Keshvalal Patel, 70, who runs a construction material business was also gunned down, but nothing was looted.