Events & Personalities
Murder most foul
The brutal killing of septuagenarians Naushir and Nargis Irani on their farmhouse in Vangaon near Dahanu on the night of December 9, 2014 has reportedly sent ripples of fear through the Parsi Irani community living in the chickoo growing region and its environs. The 76-year-old husband was found covered with blood inside the kitchen, his head bashed with a blunt instrument, while the 74-year-old wife was lying in the garden with her throat slit. The bodies were discovered by their long time maid who had come to work in the morning as per her usual practice.
Within a week, police were able to trace and apprehend the alleged assailant Ravi Thakur, 30-year-old son of their former watchman. Thakur was tracked down in Surat through the mobile phone belonging to Nargis which he had stolen and switched on two days earlier, reported the Free Press Journal (FPJ) on December 16. He had also reportedly taken Rs 15,000 and some jewelry from the bungalow.
When he was 12 years old Thakur had attempted to rob the couple, claim the police. "Due to such antics his father had also disowned him,” sub-inspector Manoj Landge of the Palghar police station informed FPJ. Thakur, who had been living in Surat for several years, had converted to Islam and got married recently, was unemployed and deeply in debt, the police said. Arriving in Vangaon two days before the murder, "he hid in the couple’s farmland, and tracked them… On Monday night (December 8), at around 10 p.m. he cut off their electricity supply, went to their place posing as an electrician and offered to restore the supply. They refused and told him to come in the morning as they had an inverter — a fact that he wasn’t aware of,” Langde told FPJ.
The following evening he returned to commit the alleged foul deed and make off with their valuables. He then ate the leftover food, cake and milk he found in the kitchen, reported Hindustan Times (HT) on December 16. Thakur moved out of the bungalow at midnight, according to the police, but as it was very cold outside he returned, watched television and had a couple of drinks before leaving the house early the following morning to catch the 4 a.m. train to Surat, HT quotes the police as revealing.
According to Mumbai Mirror (MM) of December 16, a day before the murder Thakur had come to visit the Iranis, claiming that their Tardeo based son-in-law Rustom Irani, married to their daughter Tanaz, had sent him. Nargis however, telephoned Rustom who cautioned her against opening the door as he had not sent anyone. The Iranis had recently spent several months with their bachelor son Adil, a cardiac surgeon in the USA. Naushir had undergone surgery there and they had returned to Vangaon where Adil settled them in before returning to the USA a few days earlier.
"Most of the young generation has migrated abroad or to big cities for jobs or businesses, leaving behind ageing parents. Almost 99% of our community here are senior citizens. They live in large farmhouses without any security,” Naushir’s cousin Rohinton Taraporewala told HT (December 15). "Apart from rounding up the killers, the police should take some immediate steps to ensure safety of elders. They should step up patrolling and provide some emergency telephone numbers. Otherwise, such things are going to increase in future,” feared Behrooz Irani, 50, who moved from Bombay to Dahanu.
According to The Times of India of December 16, another home in Gholvad in the vicinity was targeted by dacoits a week after the Iranis’ murder. Owner Yezdi Patel, his wife and son were away when the robbers broke in, reportedly making off with Rs 10,000 and around 70 bullets of Patel’s licensed pistol. Police suspect the involvement of an insider as the dacoits were aware that the Patels would not return until after dinner, the newspaper noted.
Within a week, police were able to trace and apprehend the alleged assailant Ravi Thakur, 30-year-old son of their former watchman. Thakur was tracked down in Surat through the mobile phone belonging to Nargis which he had stolen and switched on two days earlier, reported the Free Press Journal (FPJ) on December 16. He had also reportedly taken Rs 15,000 and some jewelry from the bungalow.
When he was 12 years old Thakur had attempted to rob the couple, claim the police. "Due to such antics his father had also disowned him,” sub-inspector Manoj Landge of the Palghar police station informed FPJ. Thakur, who had been living in Surat for several years, had converted to Islam and got married recently, was unemployed and deeply in debt, the police said. Arriving in Vangaon two days before the murder, "he hid in the couple’s farmland, and tracked them… On Monday night (December 8), at around 10 p.m. he cut off their electricity supply, went to their place posing as an electrician and offered to restore the supply. They refused and told him to come in the morning as they had an inverter — a fact that he wasn’t aware of,” Langde told FPJ.
The following evening he returned to commit the alleged foul deed and make off with their valuables. He then ate the leftover food, cake and milk he found in the kitchen, reported Hindustan Times (HT) on December 16. Thakur moved out of the bungalow at midnight, according to the police, but as it was very cold outside he returned, watched television and had a couple of drinks before leaving the house early the following morning to catch the 4 a.m. train to Surat, HT quotes the police as revealing.
According to Mumbai Mirror (MM) of December 16, a day before the murder Thakur had come to visit the Iranis, claiming that their Tardeo based son-in-law Rustom Irani, married to their daughter Tanaz, had sent him. Nargis however, telephoned Rustom who cautioned her against opening the door as he had not sent anyone. The Iranis had recently spent several months with their bachelor son Adil, a cardiac surgeon in the USA. Naushir had undergone surgery there and they had returned to Vangaon where Adil settled them in before returning to the USA a few days earlier.
"Most of the young generation has migrated abroad or to big cities for jobs or businesses, leaving behind ageing parents. Almost 99% of our community here are senior citizens. They live in large farmhouses without any security,” Naushir’s cousin Rohinton Taraporewala told HT (December 15). "Apart from rounding up the killers, the police should take some immediate steps to ensure safety of elders. They should step up patrolling and provide some emergency telephone numbers. Otherwise, such things are going to increase in future,” feared Behrooz Irani, 50, who moved from Bombay to Dahanu.
According to The Times of India of December 16, another home in Gholvad in the vicinity was targeted by dacoits a week after the Iranis’ murder. Owner Yezdi Patel, his wife and son were away when the robbers broke in, reportedly making off with Rs 10,000 and around 70 bullets of Patel’s licensed pistol. Police suspect the involvement of an insider as the dacoits were aware that the Patels would not return until after dinner, the newspaper noted.
◆ ◆ ◆
From the archive