GADCHIROLI POLICE SOLVE’S MYSTERY BEHIND GUNDAPURI TRIPLE MURDER, ARRESTS NINE ACCUSED
On the night of 06/12/2023, an incident of murder was reported in Gundapuri village under the jurisdiction of Maoists-sensitive AOP Burgi (Yemli) in Bhamragad tehsil, in which three victims were brutally murdered using crude weapons such as hammer and knife by some unknown accused persons. The victims were identified as Devu Kumoti aged 60 yrs, Mrs. Bichhe Devu Kumoti, aged 55 yrs and Ms. Archana Talandi, aged 10 yrs. As soon as this matter was reported at AOP Burgi, a case was registered at PS Aldandi based on the complaint filed by the son of the deceased, namely Vinu Devu Kumoti.
This heinous triple murder incident committed by unknown assailants on a single night shook the entire district of Gadchiroli and aroused deep anguish in the society, demanding strict and severe punishment for the perpetrators of the crime. Taking note of the seriousness and severity of the incident, SP Gadchiroli Shri. Neelotpal handed over the investigation of the crime to the Local Crime Branch to detect the crime at the earliest. With immediate effect, the newly joined Addl. SP Aheri (Pranhita) Shri. M. Ramesh, Sub-divisional Police Officer Hedri Shri. Bapurao Dadas, Local Crime Branch PI Shri. Ulhas Bhusari along with his investigation team camped at AOP Burgi (Yemli) and the team was tasked to crack the case at the earliest and arrest the accused. All the above officers along with their subordinate officers and staff camped at AOP Burgi (Yemli) and five investigation teams were formed under the direct guidance of Addl. SP Aheri, Shri. M. Ramesh. Each investigation team was assigned specific responsibilities to thoroughly scrutinize all aspects of the case and ensure a comprehensive examination of every detail of the case.
At the time of filing the complaint, the complainant did not suspect anyone or gave any information regarding his father’s dispute with anyone. However, four days after the report was filed, the complainant came up with an input that two unknown men had threatened himself and his elder brother to assassinate his family two days before the incident, while they were returning from the farm. Even though the said matter was crucial in relation to the crime, the complainant and his family kept the matter hidden from police as well as from majority of the villagers, turning the needle of suspicion turned towards the complainant and his family members. Confidential information was received by the Police from the village Gundapuri that the deceased Devu Kumoti was a notable priest of the area and he was practicing black magic. It was widely suspected that many people used to fall sick and die later due to the black magic of the priest. But the police investigation revealed that the persons who died in this area in the recent past were suffering from cancer and other serious diseases but their relatives took them to different priests without medical treatment and they died due to further deterioration in their condition. But the relatives of the deceased were very angry with the deceased Devu Kumoti as they believed that he was practicing black magic and this led to the deaths. In this regard, Panchayat was convened two to three times in the village and during that Panchayat, the deceased Devu Kumoti was given a warning by the villagers and affected people to stop practicing black magic.
It appears that due to the perceived role of Devu Kumoti in people’s illnesses, the sons of the deceased, namely 1) Ramesh Kumoti, 2) Vinu Komoti (complainant), along with his relatives 3) Joga Kumoti, 4) Guna Kumoti, 5) Raju Atram (Yemla), 6) Nagesh @ Golu Yemla, 7) Sudha Yemla, 8) Kanna Hichami, all residents of Gundapuri and the deceased’s son-in-law 9) Tanaji Kangali, resident of Visamundi, tah. Bhamragad, dist. Gadchiroli hatched a conspiracy and killed the deceased Devu Kumoti by hitting on his head with a hammer and slitting the throat of the deceased’s wife Bichhe Kumoti with a sharp knife. On the day of the incident, the granddaughter of the deceased Archana Talandi, resident of Markal village was also sleeping by side of the deceased. Fearing that she would recognize them and inform the police, the accused persons killed her also by slitting her throat with a sharp knife without giving a second thought. As these events have come to the fore during investigation, the above mentioned nine accused persons have been arrested by the police.
The said incident was a very planned and cold-blooded murder by the accused as the accused in the incident were close relatives of the deceased and the police were investigating them with suspicion, the villagers also expressed their
displeasure with the investigation at the beginning. But the investigation team continued with their line of investigation and kept a watchful eye on every minute movement of the accused and repeatedly interrogated the suspects. Since there was misunderstanding among villagers, the police department called a meeting of all the Gundapuri residents and convinced them how the suspected accused were lying and misleading the police and the villagers. Finally, after detaining all the suspected accused, the police conducted a thorough investigation with reference to the crime, and it was found that the accused persons have committed the said crime of triple murder.
The villagers have also expressed their satisfaction on the investigation of such a serious and complex crime with great patience and consistency and brought the crime to light and arrested the nine accused. The investigation was conducted under the guidance of Shri. Neelotpal, SP Gadchiroli, by a team headed by Shri. M. Ramesh, Addl. SP Aheri (Pranhita), comprising of Shri. Bapurao Dadas, Sub-divisional Police Officer Hedri, LCB Police Inspector Shri. Ulhas Bhusari along with API Rahul Avhad, HC/Akbarshaha Poyam, Prashant Garfade, PSI Sachin Armal, In-charge of AOP Burgi (Yemli), PSI Somnath Puri, PSI Suyash Dhole, WPSI Neha Hande, PSI Bhaskar Hurre, WHC/Pushpa Kannake, Chaya Veladi, Sido Kirange, MPC/Sadhana Yemla, Ranjana Sanap, Vidya Udey, Surekha Veladi, PC/ Mangesh Tumbade, Dipankar Mandal, Mahesh Atala, Vikas Soyam, Manoj Uikey, Dhanraj Atram, Pradip Gawai, Vinod Gaikwad, Avinash Kumare, Vicky Bepari, Sunil Tekam, Khushal Kulsange and Rangu Gawade who worked tirelessly throughout day and night contributing significantly to the solving of the triple murder mystery.
