Team Herald
MARGAO: The Madhya Pradesh Police on Tuesday confirmed that Ishwar Makhwana, the main accused in the Betalbatim gangrape case, is a hardened criminal with two murder cases registered against him including a double murder and had been dodging the police for the last two years.
Incidentally, the Madhya Pradesh police had come only to assist the Goa Police in nabbing him and have now verified that he is the same person. The MP police left back to their State without even attempting to take Ishwar’s custody. The four police personnel of the Badgonda Police Station led by ASI Jatendra Mishra arrived in Goa last night.
Superintendent of Police, Arvind Gawas said there were five cases registered against Ishwar in Indore. While in one case, he along with two other persons reportedly raped a college student and then crushed her and her male friend to death in a ditch. The crime took place in November 2017 but came to light only this year, when one of the persons involved in that case, confessed to it and hence police registered the case on May 1, 2018.
He further informed that Ishwar along with three others also gang-raped four girls after taking their jewellery, cash and valuables that were with the three boys who accompanied the girls on a picnic. The third case registered against him is that of a murder of one Ajay Bhil, who was earlier his aide.
The Excise Department has filed a case against him for extracting illicit liquor while the police had another case against him of kidnapping and raping his friend Mansingh’s minor daughter. Incidentally Ishwar claims to have married this girl now.
His modus operandi was to attack people visiting Mehdikun waterfall, a tourist spot in Indore and rob the gullible people and rape them.
According to Gawas, while the police have only five cases registered against him, during interrogation, Ishwar has confessed to other crimes.
“He has confessed to 8 gang-rapes, 12 robberies and a double murder in November 2017,” Gawas said.
Ishwar acquired criminal tendencies from his maternal uncle, who was looking after him since his father was murdered when he was only three years. His uncle has two murder cases against him and is presently in jail.
Ishwar and 19-year-old Ram Bhariya were working in the same factory and through Ram, he met Sanjeev Pal, who was Bhariya’s tutor.
The Indore DIG had announced an award of Rs 20,000 to whoever helped the police in arresting Ishwar.
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HOW THEY WERE NABBED
+ Disguising as KR staff, Goa cops detained a train at Margao Station and let go a nabbed accused free to trap the other criminals
+ PI Navlesh Dessai headed the team as Filomeno Costa was on leave
+ DSP Raju Raut Dessai was supervising the investigation, which was monitored by SP Arvind Gawas
+ Sanjeev Pal, a school teacher in Indore, was lured to the Karmali Railway Station to collect the money the accused had demanded to return the video
+ Initially, they had demanded Rs 1 lakh but later the amount was reduced to Rs 10,000, which the youth said he had with him at Karmali and asked Sanjeev to collect it
+ Sanjeev was nabbed by the police, who had disguised themselves as KR staff
+ Sanjeev was coerced into calling Ram Bhariya at the Kadamba Bus Stand, Margao where he was arrested later in the night
+ Ram was made to contact Ishwar claiming that he was at Karmali and when Ishwar asked him to come to Margao station, Ram was boarded on a train, which was occupied by police personnel in plain clothes
+ When the train arrived at Margao, Ram contacted Ishwar, who asked him to get off the train and walk backwards on the track
+ The train halted for 10 minutes and around 25 policemen were deployed along the track up to Comba
+ Ram was instructed to keep talking to Ishwar and was left to walk along the track
+ He was warned that if tried to run, he would be shot dead
+ Police along the track were instructed to look out for any person using mobile continuously
+ Ram was made to return to the station from Comba
+ As he was returning, police noticed Ishwar hiding near the foot overbridge at the tandoor hotel at the old railway gate and nabbed him
