Villagers call Damoh murder accused ‘cannibal’:Roamed village with iron rod, caught after a struggle

A man brutally murdered a 16-year-old boy in Samanna village of Damoh district on Thursday. The accused first struck the boy on the head with an iron rod, knocking him to the ground. He then smashed the boy’s head with around 15 hammer blows. After killing him, the accused allegedly ate the boy’s flesh and drank his blood. The accused, Gudda Patel (58), is a resident of Samanna village. The deceased, Bharat Vishwakarma (16), belonged to Arthkheda village in the Tejgarh police station area. With the help of villagers, police managed to catch Gudda Patel. During interrogation, police said the accused showed no remorse for the crime. On Friday, he was presented in court and sent to jail. Dr Javed Ahmed, who conducted the post-mortem, said the boy had severe head injuries and his brain was fragmented. He said he had never seen such a gruesome case in his career. The incident has triggered anger among local residents. Villagers are demanding that the accused’s son also be made an accused in the case. A team from Dainik Bhaskar visited Samanna village, about 13 km from the district headquarters, and spoke to residents about the incident. Sister’s house located next to accused’s home Eyewitness account Villagers threw stones but could not stop him Eyewitnesses Devendra Vishwakarma and Bhaiya Lal Vishwakarma said many villagers were present but no one dared to go near the accused. People threw stones at him from a distance, but he did not stop. He even tried to attack them, running a short distance toward the crowd before returning to the body. Villagers also recorded videos of the incident on their mobile phones. When the crowd began to grow, the accused escaped through a narrow lane near the house and ran toward the fields. Villagers chased him, and police also reached the spot soon after. Surrounded and caught after chase Police and villagers together started searching for Gudda Patel and tried to catch him. Stones were thrown at him from both sides. By then, more than 200 people had gathered in the area. Nearly one and a half hours after the incident, the accused was surrounded from all sides. During this, the iron rod slipped from his hand. A villager threw a stone that hit his leg, forcing him to sit down. Police and villagers then overpowered and caught him around 3 PM. Villagers feared the accused earlier too Bharat’s brother-in-law Kanhaiyalal Vishwakarma said Gudda Patel used to roam around the village all day carrying either an iron rod or an axe. Sometimes he slept outside the house and sometimes inside. Villagers stayed away from him, fearing he might attack someone. ‘He hardly spoke to anyone, and people also avoided talking to him,’ Kanhaiyalal said. Villager Chandrarani Patel said that around 9 AM on Thursday, Gudda had come to her house and stayed for a while before leaving. Villagers had repeatedly asked his son Rahul to keep him under control. Family demands death penalty Priya Vishwakarma, sister-in-law of Bharat’s sister Diksha, said that when villagers started shouting during the incident, they came outside and saw Bharat already dead. “The accused should be given the death penalty. Just as he killed our child, he should also be killed the same way,” she said. Villager Devendra Vishwakarma said Gudda’s son Rahul had married on February 24 and cultivates about four acres of ancestral land. On the day of the incident, Rahul had gone to his in-laws’ house to bring his wife back. Villagers said he was aware of his father’s behaviour but still left him alone. They said Rahul had been advised earlier to keep his father restrained at home. Some villagers are demanding that Rahul also be made an accused and that his house be demolished. Rahul has not returned to the village since the incident. Earlier jailed for wife’s murder Villagers said Gudda Patel had earlier murdered his wife with an axe in 2008. At around 4 AM, he had come out holding a blood-stained axe and shouted that he had killed his wife. He spent about 14 years in jail for the crime. After completing his sentence, he returned to the village about one and a half years ago. Later he began harassing family members. His son eventually beat him and put him on a train. Gudda went to Haryana, where he worked as a labourer. He returned to the village last month after his mother passed away. Accused shows no remorse CSP HR Pandey said, The accused has not revealed anything significant during interrogation. He has not expressed any remorse. Also, he speaks very little and mostly keeps wandering,” Police said Gudda ate two rotis in the lockup at night. So far, investigators have not identified any clear motive behind the crime.