Are there serial killers lurking in the State capital? The brutal killing of ten women, mostly in different areas from March 2010, using an almost identical modus operandi, has given rise to suspicion about the possible involvement of a gang of serial killers, investigators concede.
The most recent killing of Sarala Devi (60) in Trimulgherry and nine other murders could be linked, police believe. The victims of these horrific murders were in the age group of 25 and 65 years and the killings occurred in their homes. Another uncanny similarity is that all these murders were committed by ‘unidentified persons’.
Single gang?
There is more than one reason for the investigators to suspect the involvement of single gang in these brutal murders. All these killings took place during the day when the victims were alone. Except in the murders in Nacharam and Chilakalguda, the women in the other eight cases were strangled, throttled or smothered to death.
Strangely, there were no signs of forcible entry into the houses. “They most probably knock the doors to seek information or perhaps pose to be prospective tenants,” police suspect.
Going by the examination of the scenes of murder, police believe that there were at least two assailants in each case. This chilly conclusion is based on the fact that the victims did not have any bleeding wounds except for some scratches on their faces, foreheads or throats. “Nearly all of them had contusions or internal injuries on the backside of their heads. They could have sustained these injuries when they may have tried to break free from the killers’ hands,” police theorise.
No ransacking of house
In cases where the persons were smothered or throttled, the victims did not have contusions on the back of the heels as they hit their feet against the ground. The absence of such injuries have forced the authorities to believe that the victims were pinned to the ground and hence the possibility of more than one offender. Another interesting aspect is that the killers had only taken away jewellery like mangalasuthram, earrings and bangles. In no case were the houses ransacked or any other valuable touched.
The killers were also found to have pumped up the volume of the TV sets or music systems in these houses perhaps not to arouse the suspicion of neighbours. The killing of Ch. Manjula in Nacharam and B. Padma were gruesome as their throats were slit. The cut injuries were so deep that they were nearly decapitated. Except the use of knives, the two killings were akin to the other eight murders.
