‘Dr Death’ congratulates his catchers

Pune, Aug 18 (PTI) The police in Satara district ofMaharashtra were in for a surprise today when they received acongratulatory note on cracking a serial killing case — fromthe alleged killer himself. ‘Doctor’ Santosh Pol, arrested for murdering at least sixpersons between 2003 and 2016, sent a hand-written noteaddressed to Superintendent of Police Sandip Patil. Pol, whose academic qualification is dubious but workedas a doctor, hailed Patil for catching him and said, "If youask me why I am doing all this, then the question should beasked to the corrupt officials from the (police) departmentand the dormant society between 2003 and 2016." It was a police inspector from the local crime branch andthe in-charge officer of Wai police station who cracked thecase last month, Pol claimed. Patil told PTI that Pol apparently wanted to say that themurders remained unsolved until now because the concernedofficers during this period were corrupt. "It shows how he is trying to be over-smart and howdeceitful he is," said the SP. Pol has been dubbed as ‘Dr Death’ by the local media. Heconfessed to the killings during the interrogation, accordingto the police. Pol was earlier known for setting up the police officialsand getting them caught in anti-corruption bureau’s traps aswell as resorting to blackmailing. Police officers would stay away from him because of hisreputation of being a nuisance, an official said. As per the police, Pol killed Surekha Chikane on May 20,2003. On August 12, 2006, he killed Vanita Gaikwad; on August13, 2010, he killed Jagabai Pol. Nathamal Bhandari, ajeweller, was killed on December 7, 2015. On January 17, 2016,he murdered Salma Shaikh, and on June 16 he killed MangalaJedhe. It was Jedhe’s disappearance which led the police tohim. The murders were committed for looting the victims, or toeliminate those who could spill the beans on previous murders,police added. PTI SPK KRKSRYJMF