Raman Raghav

 

We've all heard about Jack the Ripper! However, India had its own Jack the Ripper, who terrorized the nation in the mid-1960s. Raman Raghav, also known as Anna, Thambi, and Sindhi Talwai, was a notorious serial murderer who terrorized Mumbai's streets in the 1960s. He was popularly known as Psycho Raman. He was infamous for his ruthless methods and was responsible for at least 41 murders. Raghav's acts were so horrific that he earned the title of "Mumbai maniac" from the media.

Raman Raghav 'Psycho Raman'

Raman Raghav was born in a Tamil Nadu village in 1929. His mother abandoned him when he was a young child, and his father was an alcoholic who often abused him. Raghav ran away from his home as a teenager and embarked on a life of petty crime, usually stealing to support himself. He later moved to Mumbai and started doing odd jobs, but his criminal activities continued to prevail.

Raghav's murder spree began in the mid-1960s. He mainly targeted homeless people such as pavement dwellers, slum residents, and drug users, believing they were easy prey. He would kill his victims by crushing them to death with a blunt item, such as a stone or a pipe. Raghav would frequently tear apart and sometimes cannibalize his victims' bodies. He was also believed to be a necrophiliac. His crimes were extremely horrific, shocking the entire city. The residents of Mumbai were in a state of panic. People were afraid of sleeping outside, or with open windows or balconies.

Raghav's news clipping

A similar series of murders had occurred a few years earlier in the Eastern suburbs of Mumbai in 1965-66. In that year,19 persons were attacked, 9 of them died. The police initially had no clues on the killer, but Raghav was captured in 1968 after hitting a man with a stone. The victim survived and was able to describe the attacker, which resulted in Raghav's arrest. Raman Raghav was discovered by the police to be an ordinary-looking man casually walking the streets with an umbrella. Raghav initially refused to answer any of the police questions. However, once the police fulfilled his desire to eat chicken, he revealed his crimes and even guided authorities to some of the murder sites. In his confession, he admitted to murdering 41 individuals in 1966 and nearly a dozen in 1968. He had no remorse for his crimes and even boasted about them.

Raghav was sentenced to death. However, before confirming the sentence, the High Court of India directed the Mumbai Surgeon General to examine whether or not the accused was of sound mind. He was interviewed five times for two hours each. His statements in interviews revealed his insane state. The following were the statements:

• He feels that individuals attempted to change his gender but were unsuccessful.

• Belief that others are attempting to put homosexual desires in his way so that he will convert to a woman.

• That homosexual intercourse would turn him into a woman.

• He often stated in interviews that he was a "101% man." 

• He had a general belief that the government brought him to Mumbai to commit crimes.

Raghav was considered to be mentally unstable after being diagnosed with chronic paranoid schizophrenia due to which he was unable to understand that his actions are contrary to the law. As a result, he was spared the death sentence. He was sent to a mental institution under Yerwada Central Jail, Pune, where he remained for the rest of his life. He died of kidney failure in 1995.

'Raman Raghav 2.0' 

The Raman Raghav case has been the topic of various films and documents including the 2016 film "Raman Raghav 2.0" directed by Anurag Kashyap. The criminal is portrayed as a distorted anti-hero in the film, and the film looks at what drives someone to indulge in such horrible acts.

Raman Raghav's acts were terrible and brutal, and he remains a renowned character in Indian criminal history. His story serves as a reminder of the horrors that people who are mentally ill can commit, as well as the importance of recognizing and treating mental illness.