Nurse murder: Pornographic content found in assailant's phone

Time of India

14-05-2025

Rajkot: Investigation into the murder of a 54-year-old cancer hospital nurse revealed that the assailant entered her house with the intention to rape her and knifed her to death when she resisted his sexual advances.The assailant,
Kanji Vanja
, fled the crime scene and hid in the bathroom of his house, from where he was eventually caught within hours of the murder on the midnight of May 12.On scanning his mobile phone, the police discovered a large number of obscene videos and
pornographic content
. Investigators said Vanja, a father of two children, had a disturbing habit of secretly recording videos of women, especially those wearing short and slightly revealing clothes.Ironically, his wife also works as a nurse at a private hospital in the Nana Mava area and was on night duty at the time of the incident.Haresh Patel, inspector, University police station, said Vanja was remanded to judicial custody by a local court.The victim, Chaula Patel, worked with the state govt-run
Gujarat Cancer Research Institute
's (GCRI) Rajkot hospital - Saurashtra Cancer Research Institute.
She was transferred from Ahmedabad to Rajkot four months ago and lived in a rented house in Rishikesh Society, located behind the Ayurvedic Hospital."During interrogation, Vanja confessed that he entered the victim's house with the intent to commit rape. Patel resisted his advances, which led to a verbal altercation and physical struggle. In the ensuing confrontation, Vanja attacked her with a sharp weapon, inflicting wounds and leaving her dead on the spot," said Patel.
In an act of self-defence, Patel managed to injure him on his leg and hand.Vanja hails from Kodinar in Gir Somnath district and lived in Rajkot for the past year with his wife and two children in a rented house.GCRI revokes transfers of six nursesAhmedabad: Smarting under massive protests alleging 'punitive transfers', the Ahmedabad-based GCRI has revoked the transfer of six nurses, three males and three females. On Tuesday, the nursing staff had accused the GCRI director Dr Shashank Pandya of 'harassment' by arbitarily transfering nurses even on slightest mistakes. They alleged that the hospitals in other cities had no accommodation for the staff, forcing the women to live in rented houses, which often compromised on their safety and privacy in Rajkot, Siddhpur, and Bhavnagar.