Bareilly serial killings: Serial killer who terrorized Uttar Pradesh arrested

LUCKNOW: Over a year of painstaking investigation, various teams searching around 150 places, 1.5 lakh mobile phone numbers and a 24-hour war room. Finally, the serial killer who terrorized Uttar Pradesh has been arrested. Kuldeep Kumar Gangwar (38) was arrested.

For months, the police had been laying a net for the man who strangled nine women. According to the police, he used to sexually assault women and would kill the women who objected and hang them by their sari on a sugarcane plantation. No mobile phones or social media were used.

The method of the murders, the style of the tieing up victims and other pieces of evidence are what led to him.

Victims' belongings

He had kept the identity cards, bindis and lipsticks of the murdered women. Authorities informed that the suspect will be subjected to a mental health examination. It is believed that his childhood, his father's remarriage, and the abuse he suffered from his stepmother may have affected the accused.

Police said they have consulted clinical psychologists to understand the killer's pattern.

Women found alone

Officials said he targeted women who were found alone and sexually assaulted them. He becomes violent if women resist him and kills them by strangulation. The victims were women seen in isolated places.

"My stepmother used to beat me all the time. I hated her. I got married in 2014. My wife left me. I hated women, that's why I decided to eliminate them one by one," he told the police.

'When going out on a killing spree, I would make sure no one was around, and if anyone saw me, I would not kill that day. The saree was tied around the neck to ensure death," said the accused.

Nine people were killed between June 2023 and July 2024. The murders took place under the Bareilly Shahi and Shishgarh police circles. Eight women aged 40-55 were killed last year in the bordering Shahi, Sheeshgarh and Shergarh regions. The bodies were found undressed in sugarcane plantations.

Last year there were three murders in June, one each in July, August and October and two in November. With this, around 300 additional policemen were deployed at the spot. The police were divided into 14 teams to patrol and monitor known criminals. Three suspected suspects were arrested. The locals and the police are relieved that no murders took place later.

However, last July 3, the body of 45-year-old Anita Devi of Hospur village was found in a sugarcane plantation. Anita, who had gone to the bank on July 2, was found hanging in her own sari.