Vasai murder case: Two minutes of rage, says killer; it was premeditated, say cops

Rohit Yadav, the 29-year-old who bludgeoned his 20-year-old former girlfriend Aarti Yadav to death on the morning of June 18, showed no remorse during the initial days of his interrogation but has now confided to his lawyer Harish Gaur that ‘two minutes of anger ruined everything'. "We have seen the video [of Rohit attacking Aarti]. It was absolutely inhuman. Rohit told me he was infuriated with her and everything happened in a fit of rage that lasted two minutes," Gaur told mid-day.

During his interrogation, Rohit told police that Aarti had started to see someone else at her workplace. "Rohit told us that Aarti's father was apprised of the development in their relationship but she had not stopped talking to the new man. This apparently enraged him and he decided to mercilessly kill her," said an officer privy to the investigation. On Monday, Rohit was produced before the Vasai court, which extended his police custody till June 27. Rohit has been misleading the cops, but the Valiv police have learnt that his actual name is Rohit Ramnivas Pal, not Rohit Ramnivas Yadav as mentioned on his Aadhaar card.

The murderer in police custody

The cops said that the Aadhaar card was fake. "He basically hails from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh but according to the Aadhaar card, he is from Rohtak district in Haryana," Pournima Chougule-Shringi, the zonal deputy commissioner of police, told mid-day. Rohit had left home when he was 18 years old and never looked back. He told Valiv police that his father would often beat him mercilessly. "After running away from Ghaziabad, Rohit apparently lived in Rohtak for a few years and then moved to Gujarat. Someone got him an Aadhaar card in Haryana with the name ‘Rohit Ramnivas Yadav'. We will find this individual, but our priority right now is to focus on the murder," said an officer privy to the investigation.

"Rohit will remain under close observation during police custody till June 27," said an officer. In a bid to seek the extension of his custody, the interrogator told the court, "The arrested accused told us that he has no relatives in his native village, as everybody has died. But a thorough investigation revealed his mother, father, and two sisters are there in Ghaziabad." "During the interrogation, it was revealed that the accused Rohit had been telling lies. His custody is required to verify his claims," said an officer attached to the Valiv police station.

Gather evidence

Another officer told mid-day that the killer had been misleading the police since day one. "We need to understand his family background, his nature, why he left his hometown and why he concealed his identity," the officer added. The cops have recorded the statements of seven people who were present at the crime scene. The police have gathered strong pieces of evidence, including the CCTV footage, mobile recordings of bystanders and their statements, blood-stained clothes of the deceased and the killer, the panchnama of the crime spot, etc.

Police examining the scene in the immediate aftermath of the murder (right) Rohit Yadav, the killer, at the crime scene before the police arrived last Tuesday. Pics/Hanif Patel

Rohit apparently killed Aarti suspecting that she is dating someone else. "We need to understand since when he was in the relationship with the deceased. Did the accused contact the person who he suspected that Aarti was dating? We all need to piece together the evidence to file a strong charge sheet against him," said the officer. The senior inspector of Valiv police station Jairaj Ranaware, who is also the investigating officer in this case, said, "We are in the process of gathering all pieces of evidence to prepare a strong charge sheet against him in this case."

Background of case

Rohit attacked Aarti with a 35-cm-long industrial wrench at Valiv in Vasai East while she was heading to work. He struck her 16 times on her head and chest in the middle of the road in the presence of hundreds of onlookers who filmed the gruesome incident with their smartphones. After killing Aarti, Rohit yelled at the motionless girl, asking ‘Kyun kiya, kyun kiya!'. Later, the psycho-killer threw the murder weapon aside and sat beside the body, which was lying in a pool of blood.

A thorough medical examination of the body revealed that there were multiple uneven cracks in the skull of the 20-year-old. Rohit wanted to marry Aarti, and her parents were also ready to give their blessings provided he managed to purchase his own accommodation in Vasai taluka before marriage. Though the killer had been trying to save a penny to buy a house, he could not save enough. Hence, the deceased decided to work to supplement his earnings.