On a cold December day, a tip-off to the Sarkhez police in Ahmedabad saved the life of a businessman and arrested a known sorcerer for conspiring to kill him. Nawalsingh Kanu Chawda, 42, who was arrested on December 3, made his statement 12 deaths using sodium nitrate. Five days later, on December 8, Chawda died “mysteriously” while still in custody, a case the police are investigating separately.
The information came from Jigar Bhanu Gohil, the 24-year-old brother who was allegedly killed by Chavda on December 1. Gohil disguised himself as Chawda’s driver to learn more about his brother’s death. Then on 18th of December, Gohil was arrested by the Padhri police on the charge of being involved in 4 of the 12 murders committed by Chawda.
Rajkot Rural Superintendent of Police Himkar Singh on why Gohil was arrested after five days of police custody ended on Tuesday (December 24) said, “Gohil, while working as a driver secretly, witnessed the murder of four members of the Mukasam family, Chawda, but failed. To inform the police. It was only when Chavda discovered a plan to kill a businessman he knew that he had a change of heart. Also, as Chavda was an eyewitness, he feared that he would be killed again.
Regarding Chawda’s death in custody, the Assistant Commissioner of Ahmedabad City Police’s M Division had earlier told The Indian Express, “A panel post-mortem was conducted on Chawda’s body. We are still awaiting the report, which will include the cause of his death. “
Speaking about the Mukasam case, Inspector SN Parmar of the station police station said that Nagma Mukasam was killed on the charge of forcing Chavda to marry. “As Chawda was already married, they killed her and cut her body into pieces and buried her in Wankaner in Morbi. After Nagma’s disappearance, her family (father Kader Ali Mukasam, mother Farida Mukasam and brother Asif Mukasam) reached out to Chawda for help. Afraid of finding out the truth, he took the three people to Paddhri’s thick Rampar forest and killed them on the pretext of psychological treatment,’ says Parmar.
All three bodies were found in an auto rickshaw on May 22, 2024. Their deaths were initially treated as suicides, as a “suicide note” was recovered, police say, adding that Chawda’s confession led to the recovery of Nagma’s dismembered body.
After Chawda’s death, Wankaner City Police filed a case against Gohil and two others involved in Nagma’s murder on December 17. After Gohil was detained in Rajkot Rural Municipality, Wankaner Metropolitan Police arrested Chawda’s wife Sonal from their house in Wadhawan city and his nephew Shaktiraj Bharatbhai. After five days in police custody, Sonal and Shaktiraj were sent to judicial custody on Monday.
Wankaner city police inspector Hansa V Ghela says, “Sonal said that Gohil and Shaktiraj were involved in Nagma’s death. Shaktiraj also helped his uncle to bury Nagma’s body. We have taken DNA samples of Nagma’s grandmother and aunt to confirm the identity of the victim. We have also recovered a knife, a spade, an electric saw (allegedly used to dismember the body) and a pair of cutters, which have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). A sample of the seized Chawda vehicle has also been sent to the laboratory.”
Handwriting samples were also collected from the houses of Chavda and Gohil to compare with the notes found in the autorickshaw, a police official said. There is a possibility that Gohil will be arrested by the Wankaner Metropolitan Municipality of Morbi on charges of being involved in Nagma’s murder when he was detained at Padhri Police Station on Tuesday (December 24). Inspector Ghela adds that Sonal knew everything about the 12 murders, adding, “His version matches Chawda’s statement.”
Meanwhile, Inspector RK Dhulia of Ahmedabad’s Sarkhez police, who is investigating Chawda’s attempt to kill the businessman, says, “It seems that Chawda killed only 12 people, but the investigation is on. We have corresponded with all the concerned police stations regarding his statement and they have started their investigation. Among his earliest victims were three members of his own family – his paternal grandmother, mother and paternal uncle. It is alleged that they were killed 14 years ago in Wadhawan of Surendranagar. We have no way of confirming their cause of death.
Although Chawda admitted to killing Kutch priest Raj Bawaji, police said there was no official record of his death in 2020 during the pandemic. According to Chawda’s confession, during the reconciliation between them, Bavaji’s tea was mixed with sodium nitrate, which affects the red blood cells, leading to cardiac arrest and death.
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