VIBHA VERMA
vibha@herald-goa.com
ANJUNA: Villagers of Mudder, Anjuna, who have seen fugitive Ranjit Tuenkar growing up in their hamlet are yet to come to terms with the trail of crime, including drug peddling, murder and a series of assault cases, left by one from their midst some four months ago.
Fright looms large on the faces of the villagers when asked about this most-wanted man. They talk of seeing him attired in salwar kameez or even a saree, but no one is ready to testify they had spotted him.
One of the neighbours has a memory of Ranjit as a boy who used to ask for a glass of water from him often. “He was disconnected from the people around. He hardly spoke to anyone. He lived in his own world,” the man described, while preferring to remain anonymous.
Police have almost given up hopes of finding Ranjit, the people still give furtive looks when asked about this man; someone who made police comb jungles and terrains till some days ago.
The house, where Ranjit once lived with his mother Shoba and sister Pratima, now lies abandoned. The NDPS Court notice pasted on the wall of the house seeking his presence before it on May 4 in connection with a drug peddling case is the only sign of recent activity here.
The family does not stay here and the villagers don’t know where they have migrated. “After his family disowned him some five-six years back, Ranjit was a wanderer. Till two years back, the family stayed in this house… Now they migrate from one place to another,” said a young neighbour.
The tiny four-room house has creepers growing on the walls and over a dozen clothes such as pairs of jeans, shirts, tee shirts and sarees stacked in one of the rooms covered with roof tiles and bushes.
Tucked amidst four other houses, no one dares to step inside Ranjit’s house even as the main door, which has a lock hanging, was broken open by police in their bid to find him. The neighbours remain apprehensive about 26-year-old Ranjit’s presence in the vast tracts of unoccupied land and hilly forest a little away from the village.
“He has been seen so many times, but always managed to elude the police,” informed another neighbour after initial reluctance to speak about the alleged murderer.
Ranjit, a daily wage worker, did not have a girlfriend or any women partner but had a gang of sleazy male friends with whom he always spent his time.
“Rendered homeless after the house partially collapsed, Ranjit was often seen loitering around the village but soon disappeared as the news of the murder broke out,” informed another neighbour on a two-wheeler, who rode off before we could ask his identity.
What’s more interesting is that little before Ranjit disappeared from the village, he had purchased a packet of cigarettes from a general store. “He would mingle with his group of friends. My children never interfered with him. On the day of the murder, he purchased cigarettes from me but we didn’t know was he had committed a murder,” said a lady who runs the general store.
The villagers are however afraid to speak about him knowing his nature. “Never know when he might attack us,” said a passer by living in the locality.
Anjuna police claim they are continuing their investigation. “Our investigation is complete except for locating Ranjit followed by his interrogation and certain evidence collection,” inspector Vishwesh Karpe said, adding the case will not be closed till then.
Victim Rekha Kharat’s family has shifted to their native place in Ratnagiri after she was done to death by Ranjit.
