Serial Killer in Bareilly? Panic Among Locals After 9 Women Found Murdered in 14 Months

Bareilly: Following the deaths of nine women over the past 14 months in a rural patch of Bareilly district in Uttar Pradesh, police are suspecting that all these murders could be linked to a serial killer. It has come to light that all these victims were targeted in a similar pattern. Probe has revealed that all the victims were found strangled in fields around noon with their clothes dishevelled. They were, however, not sexually assaulted.

A common thread that passes through all the deaths is that all the victims came under the bracket of 45 and 55 years, which seems to hint towards a targeted killing.

The women were murdered in a radius of 25 kilometres in villages that falls under the jurisdiction of mainly two police stations.

According to UP DGP Prashant Kumar, the police have been probing these cases for six months. The cops haven't ruled out the possibility of a serial killer because of a similar killing pattern.

Police have also released sketches of three suspects based on significant leads.

The first such killing was reported in June last year while the latest victim was murdered on July 3 who was found dead at a farm in Shahi Sheeshgarh area of Bareilly.

The deaths have triggered panic in the area. By November last year, eight such killings were reported following which police arrested three men but the murders continued. The cops have so far questioned farmers of around 90 villages. 

Who is a serial killer?

A serial killer is defined as a person who kills two or more people over a specific period without a motive. A serial killer could be driven to murder people due to psychological gratification. Most of these serial killers display patterns in the type of victims and the way they commit murders.

Serial killer in Delhi

In a separate incident, a serial killer murdered at least 31 children across Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh over eight years. This matter came to light after he was arrested for raping and murdering a six-year-old girl in July 2015. The accused was identified as Ravinder Kumar.