In Veraval, Gir Somnath district, Gujarat, 24-year-old hospital compounder Shyam Nathabhai Chauhan was arrested after police uncovered a serial murder scheme. Chauhan allegedly targeted acquaintances to rob them of gold jewelry and cash to fund his personal luxuries and purchase a mangalsutra for his girlfriend. On November 1, 2025, police investigated the suspicious death of Bhavana Ben, a paan shop owner suffering from thyroid issues, whose body was found inside her locked residence in Hudco Society. Realizing the house was padlocked from the outside, police tracked Chauhan after discovering he had pledged a gold chain at IFL Bank on the same day. Under interrogation, Chauhan confessed to injecting Bhavana Ben with anesthesia under the pretext of taking a blood sample before smothering her. He further confessed to murdering his friend Abhishek four months earlier by administering eight morphine tablets in a soda drink when Abhishek asked for leg pain medication, suffocating him with a pillow, and stealing his cash and gold ring. Police are conducting ongoing investigations into how Chauhan procured or stole controlled ICU drugs.
Country: India
State/Province: Gujarat, India
City/Region: Veraval
Incident Type: Murder
Relationship Status: None
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Incident Date: Nov. 1, 2025
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2025-11-01
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English labels are shown first. Original-language titles are preserved for source verification.
Crime Tak - India · Original language: Hindi
Gujarat: Girlfriend के खर्चे उठाने के लिए किए कत्ल, लोगों को दी साइलेंट मौत, पुलिस ने ऐसे पकड़ा
Unknown
The suspect, Shyam Nathabhai Chauhan, operated as a serial predator targeting acquaintances and medical home-care clients to acquire gold jewelry and cash. He utilized his technical knowledge as a hospital compounder to access controlled prescription pharmaceuticals (morphine and anesthesia) to silently incapacitate his victims before suffocating them, securing exterior locks to delay discovery, and pawning the stolen gold items at local banks.
This case does not appear to be primarily relationship-driven; the main drive was robbery, financial exploitation, and serial homicide targeting acquaintances. Veraval City police initially registered Bhavana Ben's death as an accidental death (AD) on November 1, 2025. Upon inspecting the crime scene, police noted suspicion because the house door was locked from the outside and small drops of blood were present on the bed. Tracking suspicious bank gold pledges at IFL bank led police to Shyam Nathabhai Chauhan, aged 24. During interrogation, Chauhan confessed to murdering Bhavana Ben with anesthesia and smothering, as well as murdering his friend Abhishek four months earlier using morphine tablets and a pillow. Chauhan was arrested, and police investigations are ongoing regarding his procurement or theft of ICU/prescription drugs.
Bhavana Ben's death was initially classified as an accidental death (AD). However, scene inspectors noted that the dwelling was locked with an external padlock while the body was inside, alongside small blood droplets on the bedding, prompting homicide investigators to cross-reference recent local financial transactions.
Shyam borrowed a gold chain from a friend during Diwali, secretly pledged it at a bank for personal spending, and then faced demands to return it. To obtain money to redeem the chain, he targeted Bhavana Ben, who ran a local paan shop and wore gold items. Offering to perform a home thyroid blood test, he visited her home and injected her with anesthesia under the premise of an advanced diagnostic method. Once she collapsed, he smothered her, took her gold jewelry, padlocked her house from the outside, and pledged her chain at IFL Bank. Subsequent interrogation revealed an earlier homicide four months prior, in which Shyam administered eight morphine tablets in a soda to his friend Abhishek during a leg pain complaint, smothered him with a pillow, took cash and a gold ring, and used the funds to cover personal expenses and order a mangalsutra for his girlfriend.
High ongoing community risk was posed prior to apprehension due to the suspect's unauthorized access to restricted medical drugs, combined with his willingness to lethally exploit relationships with friends and vulnerable healthcare clients for monetary gain.
Misuse of professional medical credentials and access to controlled substances can facilitate serial undetected homicides. Initial scene findings of apparent natural or accidental death require thorough verification when physical indicators (such as external door locking) contradict accidental death classifications.
The primary early signal was that Bhavana Ben's front door was locked from the outside while her body lay alone inside, accompanied by unexplained blood droplets on her bed.
Police identified bank records showing that Shyam Chauhan pledged a gold chain at IFL Bank in Veraval on the exact day of Bhavana Ben's death.
Key evidence included financial transaction receipts for gold pledges at IFL Bank, scene inquest report (panchnama) establishing external locking, and self-incriminatory statements regarding the theft and dosage of anesthesia and morphine.
Police personnel stated that during scene investigations, witnesses indicated Shyam Chauhan visited Bhavana Ben's home between 11:00 AM and 12:00 PM, after which she was not seen outside again.
Initially treated as an accidental death, follow-up police work shifted the case to a double homicide investigation when Shyam Chauhan admitted during questioning that he had also killed his friend Abhishek four months earlier.
Police are continuing to investigate whether Shyam Chauhan procured the morphine and anesthesia from commercial suppliers or stole them directly from the hospital ICU where he worked.