Serial killer Chanderkant Jha apprehended by Delhi police

New Delhi, PTI: Delhi Police Crime Branch has apprehended Chanderkant Jha, a “serial killer” who had terrorised the national capital between 2006 and 2007 and evaded arrest for more than a year, an official said on Saturday. “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 said. Jha, who had been serving a life sentence for three murders, carried a bounty of Rs 50,000 for his capture, he said.

The officer further said that the Crime Branch formed a team which included senior police officers to locate Jha. “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,” said the Additional CP. Analysing voluminous call data records, the team identified a suspicious mobile number that ultimately led them to Jha’s location. Acting on a lead, the team arrested Jha on January 17 as he attempted to flee to Bihar from Old Delhi Railway Station, he said. Police said that a history of gruesome crimes between 2006 and 2007, Jha’s modus operandi left Delhi shaken.

Originally from Bihar, Jha resided near Azadpur Mandi in Delhi and befriended young men, often migrants, by helping them find jobs and offering them meals. However, minor disagreements or perceived infractions would trigger his homicidal rage. “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 ransported using his modified cycle-rickshaw.