Serial killer family arrested for murdering 21 people

Bangalore, Jan 18 (UNI) The three-member family of a retired Assistant Engineer has ended up behind bars on the charge of allegedly murdering 21 people in Maharashtra and cheating people to the tune of Rs 15 crore in real estate dealings.

DCP Alok Kumar told reporters here that the main accused Chandrakant Sharma, hailing from Nasik, had confessed to having murdered 20 people in Maharashtra between 1978 and 1981. While he had murdered some with the help of his wife and son, he had hired supari (contract) killers to finish off others.

Sharma, after quarrelling with his doctor father, had shifted to Bangalore in 1985 and cheated public by running a real estate business.

His criminal activities came to light during investigation of the murder of retired Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) Assistant Engineer Raghavan, who was allegedly strangulated to death by the accused and his son and the body burnt later.

Sharma had confessed to having beheaded five people in Pune during his stay at Nasik, killed another person in Reva lorry camp, got Nasik silver merchant Ramesh killed by a supari killer, one Arun and Suleman killed in Mumbai by administering heavy dose of Chloroform and slaying a hotel owner in Pune.

He had also confessed to having killed a buffalo seller in Nasik using a lethal weapon. In Aurangabad, he had hired a contract killer to murder Bashir over a financial dispute and one Salim.

He had also murdered Ibrahim, a gold biscuit merchant from Dubai, by shooting him at point blank range and threw the pistol in the sea.

In Bangalore, he was involved in cheating the public to the tune of Rs 15 crore by promising land and building.

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