Patna, Feb. 24: A serial woman killer was arrested today with his three accomplices from Phulwarisharif.

The psychopath killer, Mukesh Thakur (22), struck 10 times in the city in the past six months. Between September 13, 2012 and February 13, he killed seven women and a man, setting alarm bells ringing at the state police headquarters. His aides accompanied him to the crime spot only twice.

Mukesh, a resident of Chipura village under Gaurichak police station in Patna rural, had an obsession for Hindi thriller movies.

He watched them in night shows, boozed at roadside liquor shops and then moved on the city roads in search of his prey.

He used to rob and kill the victims. Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Amrit Raj told reporters that Mukesh had adopted a bizarre modus operandi to dodge police.

He mostly committed crimes alone and killed the victims with hard blunt object to hide his identity.

Clothes with bloodstain, looted jewellery and a cellphone were recovered from his hideouts. They would be sent to the forensic science laboratory for examination.

During interrogation, Mukesh told the police that he murdered the women in vengeance. “I was caught by a woman while committing a theft in a house at Ramkrishna Nagar. I was beaten up black and blue by the local residents and handed over to police, who forwarded me to judicial custody. Fortunately I had survived the attack,” Raj quoted Mukesh as saying.

He said Mukesh attempted to kill a woman — Sudha Devi (55) — as soon as he stepped out of jail in August 2012. She was attacked with a brick on her head while she was asleep in her house at Ram Krishna Nagar on September 13 last year. But she survived the attack and a case (No.111/12) was lodged with Ramkrisna Nagar police station in this connection.

Describing Mukesh as a psychopath killer, the SSP said the youth used to watch a night show movie and booze at some roadside liquor shop before every operation. He preferably committed crime between 12 (midnight) and 2am.

'He selected only those houses where women stayed,' the SSP said, adding that there was similarity in both the operation and the weapon used in most of the crime. The officer said the youth had posed a stiff challenge before the police because most of the crimes he was involved in were blind cases. The police, however, got some clue about Mukesh after his futile attempt to kill Indu Devi, (48), Sony Kumari (28) and Seema Devi (30) at Saguna Mor under Danapur police station on February 20. The trio gave the police some idea about the attacker. On the basis of the information given by them, sketches of the suspects were prepared and sent to all the police stations in the district, Raj, the SSP, said.The sketches were also handed over to the policemen on night patrol. 'The officers on night patrol were given specific instruction to intercept those having similarity with the suspect. On Saturday night, two suspects Vicky and Raja were apprehended from the Janipur area,' he said.Raj said the duo revealed the name of Mukesh, the leader of the gang involved in such crimes. Soon Mukesh was apprehended from the Phulwarisharif area, who confessed to his involvement in 10 incidents of theft, robbery, murder and attempt to murder.Mukesh's another accomplice Suraj Kumar alias Bijulia was arrested from Nihura under Janipur police station.

The SSP said Mukesh, who was living alone after deserting his family at his native village Chipura, was earlier chargesheeted in seven cases of theft lodged with Gardanibagh, Jakkanpur and Ramkrishna Nagar police stations in the city.Mukesh admitted that his associates had accompanied him only twice. 'Eight of the 10 incidents have been committed by Mukesh alone,' Raj told The Telegraph.He said three separate teams, each headed by a sub-divisional police officer, were formed to crack the cases. The members of the teams were sent to neighbouring districts to gather information about the modus operandi of the gang. 'But they were very much present in Patna and were carrying out their operation,' the officer said.