Bricklayer: the mysterious killer from Kolkata (10 photos)

The choice of victims of maniacs is difficult to explain from a logical point of view. Some dismantle their childhood complexes and hunt young guys. Others overcome their insecurities by hitting on sexy, curvy blondes. This monster's choice was the homeless.





Stoneman is a mystery that has plagued India for more than 30 years. Local media have named a serial killer who may have killed at least 13 homeless people in Kolkata in the late 1980s.



Beggars in India

During the same period, the city of Mumbai, which was then called Bombay, also struggled with a similar phenomenon - the murders of homeless people. These horrific crimes are believed to have been committed by the same person, resulting in the deaths of at least 26 victims.

No one has been charged, and it has not been determined whether the crimes were committed by a group or by one individual. All cases remain unsolved.

Deaths in Bombay





The first sign of a brewing problem was the emergence of homeless rag pickers (people who literally buy and sell rags) and beggars in India. It began in 1985 and within two years there was a series of 12 murders in the Kings Circle and Zion areas.

The criminal acted according to a fairly simple scheme. They (or he) would seek out an unsuspecting victim who was sleeping alone in a secluded area and then kill him. They smashed the head with a single stone, which often weighed a whopping 30 kilograms.

Often the victims could not be identified because they slept alone and did not maintain any relationships or social ties with society.



No one was looking for them, and therefore the death often went unnoticed. These victims were ordinary people. Accordingly, none of these cases became loud, much less resonant. The police didn't move much until they noticed a pattern.

However, one homeless victim managed to survive the attack. He was a waiter, he managed to escape and report the incident to the police. The problem was that he was attacked in a dimly lit area, and the man was unable to see his attacker clearly.

The homeless waiter was asleep when the attack occurred and was caught by surprise. The mason, as the maniac began to be called, disappeared into the darkness of the night, remaining invisible and unrecognized.



Soon another incident occurred. A rag picker was hacked to death in the nearby suburb of Matunga. Police and the media immediately suspected that it was Stoneman, but no evidence ever emerged to link the two.

This was one of the last murders in the area. The attacks stopped for no reason in mid-1988. The cases remained unsolved and remain so to this day.

It is difficult to say whether the murders in Bombay and Calcutta were the work of the same person. However, it is strange that the killings in Bombay stopped when the killings began in Calcutta.



The choice of weapons was similar, the victims belonged to the same class, and the similarity of the modus operandi suggests that it was the work of the same person or group of people who started it in Bombay. However, this cannot be confirmed.

The first victim in Kolkata died from head wounds in June 1989. Over the next six months, there were 12 more murders, all of which were attributed to Stoneman. All the victims were homeless people sleeping alone in less lit areas of Kolkata.

In fact, most of the murders took place in the area located in the center of Kolkata. All the victims died according to the same scenario - a huge stone or concrete slab fell on the poor fellows' heads. The police assumed that the attacker must have been a relatively tall man, quite physically strong.



It has always been believed that these crimes are committed by a man. However, this is all subjective, as there have never been any eyewitness accounts or descriptions from even the few survivors.

In response, police sent additional forces to different areas of the city. They made arrests of so-called suspicious persons, but there was no evidence to open a murder case. All people were released without charges.



It is worth noting that after the arrest of these people, the killings actually stopped. As in Bombay, the crimes were not solved and still remain a mystery.

Stoneman's Legacy



This legend has captivated people all over the world so much that several films have been made based on it. Producer Bobby Bedi created the film “The Stoneman Murders,” which was released in 2009. It stars Kay Kay Menon and Arbaaz Khan.

The film was written by Manish Gupta, who claims that he used 40% fact and 60% fiction in his work. The murders in the film take place against the backdrop of a religious ritual carried out by a police officer. He left the ending open to free interpretation, but retained the intrigue.

In 2011, another film was made in Bengali called Baishe Srabon. The film is believed to be based on the crime thriller "Seven" and the drama "Righteous Kill." Baishe Srabon focuses on the mysterious murders around Kolkata that take place in 1989.



The killer in the film, like Stoneman, chooses his victims from the poor and homeless. These are often drug addicts, sex workers and people living on the streets. However, this film ends with the serial killer committing suicide by shooting himself after confessing to his crimes. Unfortunately, this did not happen with the real Stoneman.

As with many serial killer stories, the strangeness of this story lies in the killer's motive, which ultimately remains unknown. No one was ever convicted or tried for these murders. The mystery of the crime maintains interest in Stoneman even after so many years, and mystery lovers do not rule out the possibility of someday shedding light on the identity and motive of the cruel Stoneman.