Divya 
In Episode 2, we explored how the Gavit sisters Seema and Renuka became infamous criminals under the guidance of their mother, Anjanabai. From petty thefts to more sinister crimes, their path was marked by manipulation, greed, and revenge. Now, as we dive deeper into their story, we uncover the chilling escalation of their crimes a journey that saw innocent children become pawns in their deadly games, culminating in acts so heinous they would shock even the most hardened investigators.
The plan seemed simple, almost foolproof. Seema and Renuka Gavit, along with their mother Anjana Bai, had started abducting children—all below the age of five. These children became their tools of distraction as they stole from busy public places: temples, melas, and railway stations. The logic was cold and calculated—if caught, the children would serve as both an excuse and a means of escape.
But the Gavit trio’s activities were not only cruel; they were escalating. It wasn’t enough to simply use these children for theft. Their revenge against Mohan for leaving Anjana Bai simmered underneath it all. The ultimate plan included abducting Mohan and Pratibha’s young daughter and Pratibha herself. Kiran, Renuka’s husband, played a crucial role, always on standby with a bike to ensure a clean getaway.
Initially, the abducted children were abandoned after months of being exploited. Whether these kids ever returned to their families was uncertain, as the victims were usually from poor backgrounds with little means to search for them. The trio took advantage of crowded locations, swiftly snatching children whose cries were often drowned out by the noise around them. It was this brazenness that marked their reign of terror.
By April 1991, the trio had honed their method. On this particular day, they took Santosh, a one-year-old boy they had kidnapped nearly a year earlier, to the Mahalaxmi temple in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. The boy’s real name was a mystery—they had simply named him Santosh.
In the temple, amidst throngs of devotees, Seema made her move. She spotted a handbag dangling from a woman’s arm and tried to snatch it. But this time, luck was not on her side. The woman caught her in the act, and within moments, a crowd began to form, trapping Seema in a circle of angry devotees.
Anjana Bai, standing at a distance and holding little Santosh, saw what was happening. She knew she had to act fast to save her daughter. With chilling composure, Anjana Bai made a split-second decision. She hurled Santosh to the ground with such force that his tiny body crumpled, and the sound of breaking bones was drowned out by the collective gasp of the crowd. The baby’s cries of agony cut through the chaos as the crowd turned its attention to him. Seema seized the distraction and escaped. Anjana Bai followed, still clutching the injured and wailing Santosh.
Kiran was waiting with the getaway bike, and the three fled, leaving behind a bewildered crowd and a crying child. But Santosh’s cries wouldn’t stop. His injuries were too severe. Later that day, the women attempted another theft at a bus stand, but Santosh’s incessant crying drew too much attention. His presence became a liability.
The trio decided to silence him permanently. Cruelty was second nature to them by now, and Santosh’s life held no value in their eyes. As they sped along on the bike, they bashed the child’s head against an electric pole, ending his cries in a horrifying instant. With Santosh dead, they discarded his body near a rickshaw stand and continued on their way, stopping casually to eat vada pav. Witnesses later confirmed seeing the women eating as if nothing had happened, their bloodied hands betraying no remorse.
Santosh’s body was discovered the next day, but the police had no clues about his identity or who had killed him. The system failed to investigate deeply, leaving Santosh’s death as just another unsolved case.
As time went on, the Gavit trio’s crimes only grew more heinous. They kidnapped a total of thirteen children, and the official record states that they murdered ten of them in the most brutal ways imaginable. The reports read like a horror story. One child was thrown down a staircase. Another was beaten to death. A two-year-old boy was hung upside down from the ceiling in Anjana Bai’s house and swung so violently that his head repeatedly slammed into the wall until he died.
Each murder was a testament to the trio’s escalating cruelty and their complete disregard for human life. They were no longer merely thieves and kidnappers; they were now cold-blooded killers. And yet, for a time, they operated with impunity, exploiting the vulnerabilities of the system and the silence of the impoverished families they targeted.
The shadows cast by their crimes darkened with each passing day, but the Gavit sisters and Anjana Bai showed no signs of stopping. Their motives were no longer just about survival or revenge. It was as though violence had become a part of who they were, a chilling transformation that left a trail of grief and unanswered questions in their wake.
The stage was now set for their eventual downfall, but the cost of justice would be high. The lives they had destroyed could never be restored, and the horrors they had inflicted would haunt those who knew the truth forever. As their crimes escalated, so did the inevitability of their capture. But how many more lives would they destroy before that day came?
Stay tuned for Episode 2, where we’ll dive more deeper into their story.
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