Serial Killer Chanderkant Jha Arrested After Year-Long Hunt

Delhi, January 2025: Serial killer Chanderkant Jha, who terrorized the national capital with his gruesome crimes in 2006 and 2007, has been apprehended after more than a year on the run. The 57-year-old fugitive was arrested at Old Delhi Railway Station while attempting to flee to Bihar.

Jha was sentenced in 2013 to life imprisonment without remission, having received his original death sentences commuted in 2016. He successfully jumped parole in October 2023, which triggered an all-out manhunt. Delhi Police Crime Branch tracked him down following six months of detailed investigation under the supervision of Additional Commissioner of Police Sanjay Kumar Sain.

The investigation encompassed a large network of his relatives, friends, and former acquaintances spread across Delhi-NCR, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. Investigators accessed the call data record and interrogated many people working in fruit and vegetable markets where Jha had once used to work.

The police identified a suspicious mobile number associated with Jha. This led to his identification at Old Delhi Railway Station, where he was caught.

Jha’s crimes between 2006 and 2007 shocked Delhi. Police reports say he targeted young migrant men, befriending them by offering meals and job assistance. Once he gained their trust, he would lure them into secluded areas under various pretexts.

Describing his gruesome tactics, Additional CP Sain said, “Jha would bind the hands of his victims saying it was punishment and then strangulate them using a locally manufactured nunchaku. He used to chop off the bodies so that the splashing of blood was very little and threw away the body in plastic bags by his cycle rickshaw modified for this purpose. Bodies used to be dumped close to Tihar Jail. The city would become restless on these counts.

Chanderkant Jha’s violent history makes the question of tracking risky offenders very complex and poses significant challenges to safety. He could manage to remain undetected for over a year, pointing out the necessity of coordination among the law enforcement authorities and technology advancement in tracing criminals.

Capture of Jha will bring relief to Delhi, but the memories of his dastardly crimes will haunt people-the darker underbelly of the city. Authorities are closely working to tie up all remaining leads and ensure that Jha does not escape with his liberty, thereby putting an end to one of the city’s most disgusting chapters in its crime history.