Gandhinagar canal murder: Ahmedabad Crime Branch nab accused in birthday night killing

Two days after a 24-year-old man was brutally murdered near the Ambapur canal in Adalaj during his birthday celebrations, Ahmedabad Crime Branch have nabbed the suspect named Vipul alias Vimal alias Neel Parmar after a massive hunt, believed to be a history-sheeter with a record of violent robberies and murders.

Brutal midnight attack

Vaibhav Manwani, a resident of Ahmedabad, was stabbed at least 12 times in the early hours of Saturday while his girlfriend, Aastha, sustained four stab wounds as she tried to fight off the attacker. The assault took place along a deserted stretch near the Ambapur canal bridge, shortly after the couple had driven there following a birthday celebration with friends.

According to the First Information Report (FIR) lodged by survivor Aastha Hariyani at Adalaj police station, she and her friend Vaibhav Shankar Manwani had gone for a drive after celebrating his birthday with friends. Around 1.30 am, they parked Vaibhav’s Skoda car about half a kilometre off the service road by the canal, under the metro cable bridge near Ambapur.

Fifteen minutes later, an unidentified man suddenly opened the car’s back door. “We were stunned and frightened. He threatened us and demanded money and jewellery. When Vaibhav asked who he was, the man attacked him with a sharp knife-like weapon,” Aastha stated in her complaint.

Vaibhav stepped out of the car and tried to push the attacker back. The assailant then repeatedly stabbed him on the head, shoulders and chest—causing fatal injuries. When Aastha tried to intervene, the man slashed her below the right ear and on her right hand.

Suspect with a violent past

Investigators said the attacker is suspected to be a repeat offender from the Ashok Mill area on Naroda Road, previously accused in two murder cases. He also faces pending charges of robbery. 

CCTV footage from the canal service road shows a man riding a bike near the crime scene around 1 am and leaving around 2.30 am.

Multi-agency probe

Fifteen police teams including the Gandhinagar Local Crime Branch, the Special Operations Group and the Ahmedabad Anti-Terrorism Squad, were deployed to trace the attacker. Forensic experts had also collected biological samples and other evidence from the spot.

Aastha remains under medical observation and will be questioned in detail once doctors declare her fit, officers said.