Shantaram Jagtap

Case record: Shantaram Jagtap

Background

Shantaram Kanhoji Jagtap was one of a group of commercial art students associated with Abhinav Kala Mahavidyalaya, Tilak Road, Pune, India. The group acquired a reputation for bad conduct on their college campus. They frequently robbed and indulged in drinking. Their father-and-son victim circle and targets included students and families connected to the college.

Joshi-Abhyankar serial murders involved four individuals: Rajendra Jakkal, Dilip Dhyanoba Sutar, Shantaram Kanhoji Jagtap, and Munawar Harun Shah. They committed 10 murders between January 1976 and March 1977 and were hanged to death on 27 November 1983.

The offence

Kidnapping for ransom plot involving Prakash Hegde

A plot to kidnap Prakash for ransom was hatched by the group. Prakash Hegde was a colleague whose father, Sundar Hegde, ran a small hotel named Vishwa behind Abhinav Kala Mahavidyalaya.

On 15 January 1976, the foursome, along with classmate Suhas Chandak, picked up Prakash on a false pretence and took him to Jakkal's tin shed on Karve Road. They forced Prakash to write a runaway note to his father stating that he was leaving home. On the night of 16 January 1976, they gagged Prakash and took him to Peshwe Park. They strangled Prakash with a nylon rope, placed his body in an iron barrel, inserted some stones, and dumped the barrel into the lake. The following day, they sent a ransom note to Sundar Hegde.

A ransom note written by Prakash also reached his father. The letter had been signed by “Prakash”, when Prakash was actually known as Devdas at home. This led the Hegdes to realize something was wrong, despite a police complaint filed by Hegde.

Murders and thefts at the homes of Achyut Joshi and family

In October 1976, Jakkal and Sutar targeted the family of Achyut Joshi in the Vijaynagar colony. On the night of 31 October, they forced themselves into his house brandishing their knives. Achyut Joshi and his wife Usha were the only ones at home. After tying their hands and legs, they killed Achyut Joshi by strangulating him with a nylon rope and suffocating his wife. When the Joshi’s teenaged son Anand walked in, he was stripped naked and strangulated with the same identical nylon rope.

After the murders, they decamped with the booty: a mangalsutra, a watch, and a few thousand rupees.

Attack at Bafna bungalow (attempted escape and resistance)

The group moved to the city of Kolhapur in August 1976 but were unsuccessful when they targeted the house of a local businessman. Back in Pune, after the Achyut Joshi murders, they struck again.

On the evening of 22 November 1976, their targets included Bafna’s bungalow on Shankarseth road. The bungalow was attacked, but they faced resistance from Bafna and her two servants. They escaped by climbing the barbed wire fence of the bungalow.

Attack at the Abhyankar bungalow and killing of multiple family members

On 1 December 1976, around 8 p.m., the group attacked the Abhyankar bunglow Smriti on Bhandarkar road. Five people were at the house: noted Sanskrit scholar Kashinath Shastri Abhyankar (88), his wife Indirabai (76), their maid Sakubai Wagh (60), granddaughter Jai (21), and grandson Dhananjay (19).

The men gained entry by ringing the doorbell. When Dhananjay opened the door, they stuffed his mouth with a ball of cloth, tied his hands, and asked him to direct them inside the house. They eliminated each of the members by stuffing their mouths with a ball of cloth, tying both hands and legs, and then strangulating with the nylon rope. The grandmother Jai (21) was stripped naked and forced to direct them to the valuables in the house before she was killed.

Murder of Anil Gokhale near the Mula-Mutha river and discovery

On 23 March 1977, Anil Gokhale was the younger brother of their college friend, Jayant Gokhale. On the evening of 23 March, Anil was supposed to meet his brother at Alka Talkies. Anil was offered a lift home by Jakkal on his motorcycle. He was taken to Jakkal’s shed and strangulated with the nylon rope. His body was tied to an unused iron ladder, weighed down with big boulders, and dumped into the Mula-Mutha river near Bund Garden.

On the evening of 24 March, the body of Anil Gokhale surfaced near Yerawada. The police team, led by Police Inspector Manikrao Damame, realized that the nylon ropes used to tie the body to the ladder had been fastened in a manner identical to prior murders.

Police focus after confessions and contradictions during investigations

When investigated, the four boys contradicted each other about their joint movements in the city over the past week. Satish Gore, a colleague, broke down during police interrogation and confessed. Further confessions came from another classmate, Suhas Chandak, who was a witness to the Hegde killing. The killers were apprehended on 30 March 1977.

Investigation

Investigation Assistant Commissioner of Police Madhusudan Hulyalkar led the investigation. Police Inspector Manikrao Damame led the police team that recognized similarities in the knots and rope fastening. Madhusudan Hulyalkar was also described as connecting the serial killings based on the similarity of knots in the rope tied on Gokhale’s body.

After the bodies were tied and dumped with consistent methods across multiple murders, police used the pattern and investigation to link the cases together. Hulyalkar realized that the people last seen in the company of the deceased had to know something about the crime. The four were rounded up for investigation, interrogated together, and later interrogated individually.

Arrest

When the four were formally arrested on March 30, 1977, they recounted the serial killings in every detail to the police. On information provided by the killers, the barrel containing Hegde’s remains was fished out of the Peshwe park lake. The police recovered incriminating evidence at Jakkal’s shed on Karve road. Further checking recovered many of the items that had been stolen from the households of the Joshis and Abhyankars.

Trial

Case commencement and duration

The case began on 15 May 1978 in the Pune district and lasted for more than four months.

Sentencing

On 28 September 1978, they were sentenced to death by Pune Sessions Court judge Waman Narayan Bapat. Their sentences were confirmed by the Bombay High Court on 6 April 1979. Their special leave petition against their convictions and sentences was dismissed by the Supreme Court on 17 November 1980.

Additional account of appeals and applications for mercy

After the High Court and Supreme Courts turned down their appeals, the accused approached the President of India for a pardon. The President did not concede. The four were hanged at the Yerawada central jail on 27 November 1983.

Mercy efforts and arguments about execution method

Even after the four accused were sentenced to death on September 28, 1978, they tried to wriggle out of the death sentence. They sent a review petition to the Supreme Court and a mercy petition to the President of India.

A joint note addressed to the Supreme Court was signed by a total of 1000 prominent citizens, to argue the case on behalf of the state. Their arguments were believed to have resulted in the apex court rejecting the appeal at the admission stage itself, preventing the case from dragging on.

The killers kept trying to delay the execution under the pretext of wanting to donate their vital organs. Shah appealed to the court stating that he wanted to translate the Koran in Marathi and hence needed more time. They also appealed that “hanging by noose” was a painful form of death and should be replaced with electric chair. The bereaved families took written opinions of at least 10 leading doctors from across the country, who unanimously agreed that hanging by noose was the least painful of all terminal punishments. These opinions were presented in the apex court by the bereaved families.

Finally, almost six and a half years after the case had opened in the Pune courts, the four were hanged to death on 27 November 1983.

Appeals

After both the High Court and Supreme Courts turned down their appeals, the accused approached the President of India for a pardon, which was not granted.

Outcome

The four were hanged to death at the Yerawada central jail on 27 November 1983.

Aftermath

Reaction and public impact in Pune

Understandably Pune was panic stricken after these incidents. People stopped venturing out after 7 p.m. and had a tendency to stay indoors. Nobody opened their doors to strangers.

Confession-related background

Chandak was described as having disassociated himself with the group despite repeated threats to his life from them. Chandak told a newspaper he did not want to discuss the case and said: “I would not like to discuss the case anymore, I am trying hard to forget all about it. It has affected me a lot.”

Sentencing chronology within the narrative account

On September 28, 1978, they were sentenced to death by Waman Narayan Bapat, the additional sessions judge in Pune, and after the High Court and Supreme Courts turned down appeals, they were hanged to death at Yerawada central jail on November 27, 1983.

Other details

Example quotations included in the narrative

Sundar Hegde, the father of Prakash Hegde, was quoted: “When your times comes, not even God can save you. Prakash's time had come and he went away. We could not do anything.”

A reported conversation between the killers while being watched included the statements: “Will the police find out now?” “Don't worry, the boss will take care of the police.”

Key individuals mentioned in the narrative accounts

Madhusudan Hulyalkar was described as an Assistant Commissioner of Police and the person who led the investigation. Manikrao Damame was described as Police Inspector Manikrao Damame, and was described as Hulyalkar’s “My best officer during that time.” Hulyalkar later studied psychology and completed a Ph.D in the same subject.

Satish Gore was identified as a colleague who broke down during interrogation and confessed.

Murder methodology similarities and operational details

The gang used rubber gloves leaving no fingerprints. They also sprayed a strong scent in the house to ward off sniffer dogs. The rope-knot similarity was used to connect the serial killings.

Victims and ages included in the record

Prakash Hegde (20). Sundar Hegde (father). Achyut Joshi, Usha, Anand (teenaged son). Bafna (Yashomati Bafna), and her two servants (no names given). Kashinath Shastri Abhyankar (88), Indirabai (76), Sakubai Wagh (60), Jai (21), Dhananjay (19). Anil Gokhale (younger brother of Jayant Gokhale).

Cultural references and film titles

Maaficha Sakshidar (1986) starred Nana Patekar. Paanch (2003) was by Anurag Kashyap.

Publication and references mentioned

Ramakant Kulkarni, Footprints on the Sands of Crime, MacMillan India (2004), ISBN 978-1-4039-2361-5. Wikipedia.org The Evil and the Dead. Rahul Chandawarkar - Sunday Mid-Day September 6, 1998.