Tantrik accused of murdering 12 dies in police custody in Gujarat

A 42-year-old tantrik arrested for allegedly conspiring to murder a businessman died in police custody in Gujarat's Ahmedabad on Sunday after admitting to killing 12 people by giving them drinks laced with a chemical, the police said.

The Sarkhej police arrested Navalsinh Chavda around 1 am on December 3 when he was on his way to commit the crime after his partner for a taxi business with whom he shared the plan tipped off the police, an official said.

The police secured Chavda's remand till 3 pm on December 10 for further probe into his occult practices and possible involvement in human sacrifices, he said.

"Around 10 am on Sunday, Chavda fell ill and was rushed to the civil hospital in an ambulance, but the doctors declared him dead on arrival. The accused confessed to 12 murders during interrogation, and all deaths had occurred due to consumption of sodium nitrite," the official said.

Deputy commissioner of police Shivam Verma said the accused confessed to having committed 12 murders by making his victims consume sodium nitrite dissolved in water during occult rituals.

Chavda admitted to having murdered a man in Ahmedabad, six in Surendranagar, including three members of his family, three in Rajkot, and one each in Wankaner (Morbi district) and Anjar (Kutch district), Verma said.

He said the accused confessed to having murdered a man whose body was found in the Aslali area of Ahmedabad in August 2021 in what appeared to be a road accident. A post-mortem later suggested it to be a case of death by poisoning.

The probe has also revealed that the accused had similarly killed his grandmother around 14 years ago and his mother and uncle a year ago, Verma said.

According to the police, Chavda procured sodium nitrite, a chemical used for dry cleaning, from a laboratory in his hometown, Surendranagar.

Due to poisoning, several of his victims died of heart attacks, while the nature of the deaths of a few other victims was a matter of investigation, the official said.

Chavda had found out about the chemical from another tantrik.

The substance would take effect 15 to 20 minutes after consumption and cause heart attack, etc., leading to death, he said.

The accused called himself a bhuvaji and proclaimed that he had the power to perform magic and miracles.

He also had an ashram at Wadhwan in Surendranagar where he practised black magic, the police said.

He would offer to multiply his victims' wealth or solve their problems, they said.

The police had recovered incriminating evidence from Chavda's vehicle, including items used in rituals and white powder.