Man Influenced By TV Crime Series Kills Woman After Drugging Her With Sleeping Pills

A man allegedly inspired to kill after watching a TV crime series has been accused of brutally murdering a woman after lacing her cold drink with sleeping pills and bashing her head in Hadapsar, Maharashtra, India on Saturday, April 9.

On Sunday morning, the body of the unnamed 42-year-old victim, who reportedly worked as a house help, was discovered in the Vaiduwadi area in Hadapsar, Maharashtra, India. Investigating officers noted that the victim's jewelry, her cell phone, and her ATM card were not found in her possession.

This led law enforcement to suspect that the victim was murdered as part of a robbery gone wrong. Following this, a coordinated probe was launched by police teams from the Hadapsar Police Station and Pune City Police’s Crime Branch to nab the suspect, the Indian Express reported.

Since the victim's cell phone had gone missing, the police officers tried tracking her mobile device to gain clues. Officers eventually tracked the victim's phone to a 46-year-old man identified as Kiran Jagtap, a resident of Purandar. In addition to the cell phone, the officers also recovered the victim's ATM card from him.

Further investigation confirmed Jagtap’s presence in the area where the woman’s body was found around the time of her death. Following this, the police officers detained him for questioning in connection with Jagtap's death, ZEE5 reported.

According to a preliminary investigation, the accused was found to have been acquainted with the victim since 2009.

According to Inspector Hemant Patil of Crime Branch’s Unit-5, the accused was reportedly in need of money for his daughter’s wedding. In order to raise the funds, the accused reportedly took ideas from a TV crime series and hatched a plan to kill and rob the victim.

After three months of planning and waiting, on Saturday night, April 9, the accused went to meet the woman. While talking to her, the accused gave her a cold drink laced with sleeping pills and drugged her. When the victim became unconscious, he allegedly murder her before taking off with her valuables.