'Serial killer' with cases in several states held in Gujarat for rape-murder of teen girl

Valsad: An alleged serial killer involved in murders in four states was arrested by Gujarat police for the rape and murder of a 19-year-old girl in Valsad district, an official said on Monday.

Rahul Jat, a native of Rohtak in Haryana, was arrested as part of a probe that began after the 19-year-old girl's body was found on November 14 near the tracks close to Udvada railway station, the official said.

She was returning home from tuitions in the evening that day when she was attacked from behind, raped and murdered. Only a day before his arrest, Jat had looted and murdered a woman on a train near Secunderabad railway station in Telangana, the official informed. "Rahul Jat was held from the parking lot of Vapi railway station in Valsad on Sunday night in a joint operation carried out by local and railway police. Jat travelled extensively and kept changing his location. We have found that he is involved in at least four cases of loot and murder on trains and at railway stations in Karnataka, West Bengal, Telangana and Maharashtra," said Superintendent of Police Karanraj Vaghela.

"Only a day before his arrest, he had looted a woman and murdered her on a train near Secunderabad railway station (in Telangana). In October, he had raped and murdered a woman on a train near Solapur railway station in Maharashtra. He stabbed to death an elderly man on Katihar express train near Howrah railway station in West Bengal. He is also accused of murdering a train passenger in Mulki in Karnataka," the SP said.

More than a dozen cases are registered against him in Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh as well, Vaghela informed.

"Jat travelled on trains and committed loot and murder. He visited Surat, Valsad and Vapi four to five times in the last one year. He had come here to collect his salary from a hotel where he worked. He raped and murdered the 19-year-old girl during this visit. We nabbed him after a massive search involving police units from different states and checking of footage of 2000 CCTV cameras in Vapi, Valsad, Surat and Udvada," the SP said.

One of the footage gave police a clear photo of the suspect, who was identified by an official of Surat's Lajpore central jail as Rahul Jat, the official said. Police said he was jailed in 2018-19 and 2024 in cases related to truck theft and illegal arms smuggling in Rajasthan, Haryana, UP and Uttarakhand. He looted people whenever he found them alone and raped women, especially in the coaches for differently-abled passengers, and nabbing him was tough since he kept moving and mostly slept at railway platforms and in trains, as per police.