Bio 

Rajendra Jakkal was one of four men convicted in the Joshi-Abhyankar serial murders, a series of killings that took place in Pune, Maharashtra, India, between January 1976 and March 1977. Available accounts identify him as a commercial art student at Abhinav Kala Mahavidyalaya on Tilak Road in Pune.

Jakkal was associated with Dilip Dhyanoba Sutar, Shantaram Kanhoji Jagtap, and Munawar Harun Shah. The four were part of the same college circle and were later described in reports as students with a reputation for misconduct, theft, drinking, and robbery-related behavior on and around campus. Among the four offenders, Jakkal appears frequently in accounts of the case because several victims were taken to or killed in connection with his tin shed on Karve Road.

By 1976, Jakkal and the others had begun targeting people connected to their college or households they believed they could rob. Their crimes combined kidnapping, robbery, planned restraint, and murder. The group’s use of nylon rope, gagging, and similar knots later helped investigators connect the killings.

Murder Story

The first known murder committed by Rajendra Jakkal and the group was the killing of Prakash Hegde, a 20-year-old student whose father, Sundar Hegde, operated a small hotel called Vishwa behind Abhinav Kala Mahavidyalaya.

On January 15, 1976, Jakkal, Dilip Sutar, Shantaram Jagtap, Munawar Shah, and classmate Suhas Chandak lured Prakash away under false pretenses. They took him to Jakkal’s tin shed on Karve Road and forced him to write a note saying that he was leaving home voluntarily. On the night of January 16, 1976, they gagged him, took him to Peshwe Park, strangled him with a nylon rope, placed his body inside an iron barrel, added stones, and dumped the barrel into the lake. A ransom note was later sent to Sundar Hegde.

After the Hegde murder, the group attempted to commit crimes outside Pune. In August 1976, they went to Kolhapur and targeted the home of a businessman, but the attempt failed.

On October 31, 1976, the group attacked the home of Achyut Joshi in the Vijaynagar area of Pune. Achyut Joshi and his wife Usha were inside when the offenders forced entry while armed with knives. The couple’s hands and legs were tied. Achyut Joshi was strangled with a nylon rope, and Usha Joshi was suffocated. When their teenage son Anand came home, he was also restrained and strangled. The offenders then stole valuables, including a mangalsutra, a watch, and cash.

On November 22, 1976, Jakkal and Sutar attacked the bungalow of Yashomati Bafna on Shankarseth Road. The robbery attempt failed after Bafna and her two servants resisted. The attackers escaped by climbing over a barbed-wire fence.

On December 1, 1976, all four offenders attacked the Abhyankar family home, known as Smriti, on Bhandarkar Road in Pune. The five people inside were Sanskrit scholar Kashinath Shastri Abhyankar, his wife Indirabai, their maid Sakubai Wagh, granddaughter Jai, and grandson Dhananjay.

The offenders gained entry by ringing the doorbell. When Dhananjay opened the door, they gagged and restrained him and forced him to guide them inside. Each person in the house was restrained, gagged, and strangled with nylon rope. After searching the home for valuables, the offenders left. The killing of the Abhyankar household caused widespread fear in Pune, with many residents reportedly avoiding travel after dark and refusing to open doors to strangers.

The final known murder took place on March 23, 1977. The victim was Anil Gokhale, the younger brother of Jayant Gokhale, who was connected to the offenders through college. Anil was supposed to meet Jayant near Alka Talkies. Jakkal offered Anil a ride on his motorcycle. Instead of taking him home, Jakkal took him to the shed on Karve Road.

At the shed, Anil Gokhale was strangled with a nylon rope. His body was tied to an unused iron ladder, weighed down with stones, and dumped into the Mula-Mutha River near Bund Garden.

On March 24, 1977, Anil’s body surfaced near Yerwada. Investigators noticed that the knots used to tie the body were similar to those used in earlier killings. This became a major breakthrough in the case.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Madhusudan Hulyalkar led the investigation, while Police Inspector Manikrao Damame played an important role in linking the cases. When questioned, Jakkal and the others gave conflicting statements about their movements. According to later reporting, Jakkal also made a statement suggesting a link between the Hegde and Gokhale cases, which drew police attention back to the earlier disappearance of Prakash Hegde.

Further suspicion grew after plainclothes officers overheard conversations involving members of the group and after associates of the offenders began cooperating with police. Satish Gore, a college acquaintance, gave information to investigators, and Suhas Chandak, who had been present during the Hegde abduction and killing, provided important evidence.

Rajendra Jakkal, Dilip Sutar, Shantaram Jagtap, and Munawar Shah were formally arrested on March 30, 1977. Police later recovered Prakash Hegde’s remains from Peshwe Park lake and found evidence connected to the murders at Jakkal’s shed. Investigators also recovered stolen property from the Joshi and Abhyankar homes.

The trial began in the Pune district and sessions court on May 15, 1978. It lasted more than four months. On September 28, 1978, Sessions Judge Waman Narayan Bapat sentenced Jakkal, Sutar, Jagtap, and Shah to death.

The Bombay High Court confirmed the death sentences on April 6, 1979. The Supreme Court of India dismissed their special leave petitions on November 17, 1980. After their appeals failed, the men submitted a mercy petition to the President of India, but it was rejected.

Rajendra Jakkal was executed by hanging at Yerwada Central Jail on November 27, 1983, along with Dilip Dhyanoba Sutar, Shantaram Kanhoji Jagtap, and Munawar Harun Shah.