Mumbai / Mumbai man who threw child off 7th floor says supernatural power told him to do so

The murder of a 3-year-old girl in Mumbai's posh Colaba area has taken a chilling turn.

The accused Anil Chugani threw one of his friend's twin children from the seventh floor from his flat because a "supernatural power" told him to do so.

43-year-old Anil Chugani told police that he had been planning the murders since May.

Plotted murders in diary

Chugani maintained a diary where he wrote details of his intention to kill the twins. He said that a paranormal entity had told him that killing twins would solve his life problems.

The idea of offering the children as human sacrifices appeared many times in his diary.

In his diary, Chugani had also noted down several peculiar observations about people he knew. Most of them were about women.

Murder to lift curse

Police have claimed that Chugani was mentally unfit and had recently returned to India from Morocco where he used to work in a garments shop.

He usually came to Mumbai for two months every year but this time he stayed for six months as he was planning the crime.

After his arrest, Chugani told the police that a woman colleague of his from Morocco had told him the reason for his health issues was some black magic done on him. As a solution, he had to offer a sacrifice of twins.

He also wrote about how a supernatural power told him killing a pair of twins would rid him of the curse. He then decided to target his friend Prem's twins Shreya and Sanaya.

What happened on Saturday

On Saturday night, Chugani invited his friend and neighbour Prem Hathiramani's daughters to his Ashoka Apartments flat. He told Prem that he wanted to play with the kids as he was feeling lonely.

Hathiramani's nanny took her employer's children -- a son aged six and the twins to his flat.

Chugani offered food to the children. Offering to help clean the victim Shanaya's hands, he lured the child to his bedroom.

He then flung the toddler out of the window. The girl landed on the bonnet of a car parked below. She was rushed to a hospital in south Mumbai where she succumbed on Saturday night.

According to the police, Chugani was not able to kill the other sister as their nanny was present in the house.

Chugani's wife was with her parents in Andheri when the incident took place.

Knew he would go to jail

Chugani was fully aware that the crime would send him to prison. In fact, he himself called up police after throwing the toddler of the building. He believed that he would solve his problems by going to jail.

When police arrived on the scene, he came out of his flat with his hands folded and said he was ready to be arrested.

The police have registered a case of murder against Chugani. He has also been charged under the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013.

A holiday court in south Mumbai has remanded Anil Chugani to police custody for six days.