In a major breakthrough, Delhi Police has arrested Chanderkant Jha, a notorious serial killer, also known as ‘Butcher of Delhi’, who evaded capture for more than a year after absconding while on parole in October 2023.
According to officials, the 57-year-old criminal, who terrorised the national capital between 2006 and 2007, was arrested on Friday at Old Delhi Railway Station during an intensive operation after cops got a tip off on his whereabouts.
“Jha was on the run after jumping parole in October 2023. The 57-year-old was arrested from Old Delhi Railway Station on Friday following an intensive operation,” Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Sanjay Kumar Sain told reporters.
“Over six months, the team traced Jha’s network of family, friends, and associates. They conducted reconnaissance at his previous crime spots and interrogated individuals in fruit and vegetable mandis across Delhi-NCR, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, where Jha had once worked,” he added.
Jha was convicted of three murders, earning two death sentences in 2013. However, these were commuted to life imprisonment without remission in 2016. He also carried a bounty of Rs 50,000 for his capture.
His gruesome methods earned him infamy as he would dismember people’s bodies and leave them stuffed in sacks near Tihar Jail. Moreover, Jha would also leave handwritten notes for the Delhi Police, taunting them with messages such as, “I committed this murder. Catch me if you can”.
“Jha would tie his victims’ hands, claiming he would punish them, and then strangle them with a locally made nunchaku. He would dismember the bodies meticulously, ensuring minimal blood splatter. The remains were then packed in plastic bags and transported using his modified cycle-rickshaw before being dumped at pre-determined locations, often near Tihar Jail,” Sain added.
Jha came on police radar for the first time in 1998 when he killed a man named Mangal alias Aurangzeb in Adarsh Nagar and cut his body into pieces and scattered the parts in different places in the city.
According to police, Jha was arrested months after his first murder, but released in 2002. He resumed killing after his release.
Since then, he has been on a killing spree, including the murder of his associate for being a drunkard, a migrant from Bihar for alleged betrayal, a man for smoking marijuana and many others. In total, Jha is accused of killing 18 people so far.
Having studied up to the eighth grade, Jha migrated to Delhi in 1990 and worked in various low-income jobs. He was married twice and fathered five daughters.
The sensational case of Chandrakant Jha also gained widespread attention through an online documentary titled “Butcher of Delhi”, which was released on Netflix.
