MUMBAI — 1968 · Serial Murder

The Raman Raghav Killings

SolvedSources: ALast updated: 14 October 2026

In the mid-1960s, homeless people and poor workers sleeping on pavements and in shacks in the suburbs of Bombay (today's Mumbai) became targets of night-time attacks. A first wave came in 1965–1966 and a second in 1968, spreading fear across the city. Maharashtra police caught Raman Raghav on 27 August 1968. In his statements he said he had killed many people along the railway line and in the suburbs; the exact number of victims was never established. He was sentenced to death in 1969, but the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment because of mental illness. He died in hospital in custody in 1995.

Date: 1968
Place: Maharashtra, India, Mumbai, IN
Category: Serial Murder
Case Status: Solved
Coordinates: 19.0728, 72.8826 ↗

Timeline of Events

1965–1966A first wave of attacks hit Bombay's suburbs.
1968The attacks resumed.
27 August 1968Raman Raghav was arrested.

1969He was sentenced to death; later commuted to life imprisonment.
1995He died in hospital in custody.

Sources

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