'Dr Death' praises cops who nabbed him

The police in Satara district of Maharashtra were in for a surprise on Thursday when they received a congratulatory note on cracking a serial killing case -- from the alleged killer himself.

‘Doctor’ Santosh Pol, arrested for murdering at least six persons between 2003 and 2016, sent a hand-written note addressed to Superintendent of Police Sandip Patil.

Pol, whose academic qualification is dubious but worked as a doctor, hailed Patil for catching him and said, “If you ask me why I am doing all this, then the question should be asked to the corrupt officials from the (police) department and the dormant society between 2003 and 2016.”

It was a police inspector from the local crime branch and the in-charge officer of Wai police station who cracked the case last month, Pol claimed.

Patil said that Pol apparently wanted to say that the murders remained unsolved until now because the concerned officers during this period were corrupt.

“It shows how he is trying to be over-smart and how deceitful he is,” said the SP.

Pol has been dubbed as ‘Dr Death’ by the local media. He confessed to the killings during the interrogation, according to the police.

Pol was earlier known for setting up the police officials and getting them caught in anti-corruption bureau’s traps as well as resorting to blackmailing.

Police officers would stay away from him because of his reputation 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 August 13, 2010, he killed Jagabai Pol.

Nathamal Bhandari, a jeweller, was killed on December 7, 2015.

On January 17, 2016, he murdered Salma Shaikh, and on June 16 he killed Mangala Jedhe. It was Jedhe’s disappearance which led the police to him.

The murders were committed for looting the victims, or to eliminate those who could spill the beans on previous murders, police added.