Just days before the day, when people all over the world celebrate their love for each other, chilling scenes played out in Surat, where a young boy slashed the throat of the girl he supposedly “loved,” infront of her shocked family including the girl’s screaming mother and an overwhelmed younger brother. And it all happened in Surat. A city so close to me where I have been so many times. A crime of this nature in this city, in my very own Gujarat, feels like a stab in the chest.
It’s a chilling video guys, that I cannot show you here or anywhere else and it is not for the weak hearted.
This is the story of young love gone horribly wrong, in an India, where families ignore tell-tale signs of a gruesome crime in the making, where friends of a young man discount his open challenge to kill a girl as amere empty threats and where a girl’s family doesn’t approach police for the fear of losing their face in the society and then it eventually ends in disaster.
This is the story of a 21-year-old college student Fenil Goyani and his school mate Grishma Vekariya. While the brutal daylight murder that was fully captured on mobile phone cameras, has shocked the state of Gujarat and the rest of India, there are layers of truth unraveling now in what started as a story of a jilted lover.
Fenil, knew Grishma, since a very long time, and as per various news reports, things weren’t always so bad between the two. While most reports say that Fenil was constantly harassing Grishma since a few years by stalking her and pursuing her to be his lady-love, there are some reports that claim that Grishma was friendly with Fenil and the two had met through a common friend. Apparently they had also gone out on Grishma’s birthday, in December, but all hell broke loose, when Grishma’s family found about this friendship.
As per Fenil’s last phone call with a friend, that has now gone viral, he wasn’t stalking or harassing Grishma, but they were friendly. He is heard telling his friend how Grishma’s family had asked him to stay away from her and a few days back, a couple of men, along with Grishma’s chacha and mama, had barged into his house and slapped him. He slapped them back but, he says, they even assaulted his parents. And even as his friend is heard trying hard to pacify him on the call asking him to come back home, Fenil only had revenge on his mind and in that call he clearly says in Gujarati that the only thing he now wants to do, is kill Grishma and end his own life, too. And as it turns out, this youngster kept 50% of his promise and snuffed the life out of Grishma in cold-blood right infront of her mother, brother and many other onlookers.
I cannot stress more on just how chilling this is video is, that I am unable to show you here or anywhere else, but many depraved and saddists have already made it viral, and I am sure many of you would have already watched it. It is definitely not for the weak-hearted and it is the kind of stuff you only see in films, but sadly this is all very true.
Grishma, who lived with her mother Vilas Vekariya and 17 year old brother Dhruv, was a first year Bcom student in Surat, but they are originally from Junagadh. Her father Nandlal Vekariya, who is in diamond business is based in Nigeria and wasn’t there on the fateful day of 12th Feb, when a jilted lover boy mercilessly sliced open his daughter’s throat and left her to die. After doing that, he removed a packet from his pocket and emptied it into his mouth, even as Grishma lay at his feet in a pool blood with her throat slit, gasping for breath. Imagine the horror of her mother, who was watching her child suffocate and bleed to death. Imagine the mindset of her younger brother who couldn’t save the sister he grew up with. What makes matters even worse is the fact that Grishma’s parents are disabled and she was their hope and pride. She was good at her studies and wanted to join the army to serve the nation.
Fenil Goyani, who apparently worked at a private firm, was so chilled out even after commiting such a gut-wrenching act that he just stood there waiting for Grishma to die and then tried to escape. It was only when he saw that he was surrounded by many people that he tried to slit his own wrist. He was rushed to the hospital, along with Grishma’s dead body and her brother and uncle, who were also stabbed by Fenil, before he caught hold of Grishma, who had jumped in to save them from Fenil but instead lost her own life.
Fenil had gone to Grishma’s house with an intent to kill her and he did just that. Now, after he has been arrested, there is a massive uproar in Gujarat, for a speedy trial and justice for Grishma. A 10 member SIT has also been formed to investigate the crime. From the heads of Surat Diamond Association to the leaders of Patidar and Patel Samaj, and diamond industrialists have all made representations to the Surat police, demanding speedy justice for Grishma and her family.
Fenil, was taken on a stretcher to the court and was produced before a judge. The police have been granted 3 days of custody for Fenil, who has been booked for murder and attempt to murder, among other charges. Fenil, apparently, also has some criminal background, as there are reports that he was running a “couple box” under the garb of a cafe and the police have now begun a crackdown on such places after Grishma’s murder.
Now, as politicians see it as a chance to get back to their opponents by calling out the recent spurt in crimes in Surat and in Gujarat, as the court case against Fenil begins, as the trial continues and slowly, flashes of Grishma’s heart wrenching murder fade away from public memory, one cannot help but wonder about these questions.
Why did Grishma’s family not approach the police against Fenil’s advances? What was the equation between Fenil and Grishma, really? Were their friends not aware of just how dangerous Fenil’s mindset was about causing harm to Grishma? What were the onlookers doing only shooting the crime and no one, really no one, had the tact to overpower a puny little 21 year old. Of course, it was a highly tense and preciarious situation but in the video it is aptly clear how people around had little regard for the life of a human being.
In my years of reporting news on and off the ground, including the 26/11 attacks, there are few stories that really make me shudder and unsettle me. This is one of those stories. It has shook me to the core and made me once again wonder how seemingly regular people can commit such horrific acts of extraordinary brutality. Slicing a person’s throat you know, even as they plead and beg for their life, watching her mother cry and beg for her child’s life, doing this infront of so many people knowing well that it is all being recorded? What kind of a person does this and what must have been his upbringing and mindset to push him, allow him and make him actually go through with it.
As I watched this video to bring the latest on this story to you, I could only think of the state of Grishma’s mother and brother who will never be able to forget the chilling visual of Grishma slowly and painfully losing her life, infront of their eyes.
Many are calling for a capital punishment for Fenil and News18 Gujarati even ran a poll on Twitter asking this – Surat ma Grishma Veariya Hatya Case Maamle Hatyara Aaropine Faansini Saja Thavi Joiyye ke nahi?Tamaro shu vichar che? Let us know in the comments.
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