An ambitious Maharashtra government project to interview and create a database of serial killers and other serious offenders in state prisons has been scrapped following complaints against the project head.

The criminology research project titled “RUDRA”, approved in May last year, aimed to study repeat offenders and develop behavioural profiles to help predict crimes and identify inmates who may require psychological counselling.

According to a Government Resolution issued by the state Home Department on Friday, complaints were received against the project’s research head, Atharva Deshpande (22), prompting the government to cancel the project.

A GR issued by the Home Department said, “…considering the serious complaints received against the Research Head of this project, Mr. Atharva Deshpande, and the report submitted by the Dean, Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Corporation Medical College and General Hospital, Sion, Mumbai, in connection with the said complaints, there is a possibility of adverse impact on the functioning of this important
project of the Government.”

It further stated that “considering the above facts, the Government has decided to cancel the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and the financial sanction given for the ‘Criminology Research Project RUDRA’ implemented in the prisons of the state with immediate effect.”

Sources said the complaint had been made by members of the nearly 10-person team working on the project, RUDRA (Research Unit for Detection and Resolution of Anomalies in Criminals).

“An in-house enquiry was conducted into the allegations following which the Dean submitted a report. Based on the report, it was decided that running the project would no longer be tenable in its current manner,” a source said.

When contacted, Deshpande said he did not wish to comment on the matter.

The Home Department is now considering consulting the Bengaluru-based National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences to carry out a similar research initiative.

Approved on May 7, 2024, at a cost of Rs1.80 crore and planned to run for 10 years, the project aimed to build behavioural profiles of repeat offenders by studying traits that could indicate the likelihood of reoffending. It also aimed to forecast criminal behaviour and recommend counselling or psychological support for inmates where necessary.

The project was to be carried out by a team of 10 MBBS students from Mumbai’s Nair Hospital led by Deshpande, who had proposed the idea. The team was to be granted access to inmates involved in serious offences across prisons in the state.

Deshpande had been inspired by the work of FBI special agent John Douglas after reading his book Mindhunter, which explores psychological profiling of criminals.

He approached the state Home Department in 2024 and later presented the proposal to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio. After a pilot project was allowed in two prisons, the state government approved the full project in May last year.