‘Open challenge’: How serial killer Chanderkant Jha played hide and seek with Delhi Police

Serial killer Chanderkant Jha was arrested by Delhi Police on Friday.

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.

A notorious killer, also known as 'Butcher of Delhi', absconded while on parole in October 2023. According to officials, the 57-year-old criminal was arrested on Friday at Old Delhi Railway Station during an intensive operation after cops got a tip off on his whereabouts.

How Chanderkant Jha played hide and seek with cops?

On May 18, 2007, a phone call received by the Delhi police control room informed the authorities that a dead body was lying in a gunny bag outside the gates of Tihar Jail.

The mysterious call was received by ASI Rampal, who quickly alerted the police at Hari Nagar.

Upon reaching the scene, the team of investigators led by Inspector Malkiat Singh carefully opened the bag, finding a headless torso mutilated beyond recognition, with limbs severed below the knees and private parts removed.

But according to a Times of India report, the thing which caught the investigators off guard was a letter, written in green ink on yellow paper, tucked inside the bag.

The caller and the letter writer were none other than convicted serial killer Chanderkant Jha. By informing the police about the location of body parts and then leaving letters beside the bodies, Jha, in his trademark style, used to mock the cops for their "inefficiency and incompetency."

Analysing the erstwhile court documents shows that the public witness, Devraj (PW-6), a telephone booth operator in Timarpur, identified Jha as the person who made the call at about 6:20 am on May 18, 2007, to the police control room from his PCO after inserting a coin, as per the TOI report.

After some time, the same person came again and inserted another coin, which came out. This only happened when the call was made to the police (100). Devraj then asked the said person to disclose who he was calling.

The documents state that the caller became perplexed, handed over the coin, and left the shop. Hours later, the police reached the PCO and questioned Devraj, who later helped them

create a sketch of Jha.

It was these factors that later led to his arrest and turned out to be "clinching evidence".

Dr Sanjeev Kumar, a handwriting expert, compared the letters to Jha's specimen handwriting and concluded that the letters were written by the same person. As per the report, the analysis revealed striking similarities in letter formation, size, and proportion.

“Similarities are also observed in general features such as writing movement, skill, speed, spacing, and the nature of commencing and terminating strokes. There is no divergence observed between the questioned and specimen writings," the report adds.

Interestingly, Jha is believed to have prepared his own defence, which was delivered by his court-appointed lawyer.

An investigator recalls: “He read all his case files and papers, consulted and read relevant law books to prepare his case.”

Jha called the telephone calls and letters “police plants” when they were cited as evidence, describing the letters as concocted evidence prepared by the cops and accusing the PCO operator of being a police stooge.

However, the evidence was too strong to be overlooked. Jha also contested his date of arrest, i.e., May 20, 2007, saying it was a day earlier, but the court said at most it could be a procedural error.

The court documents also contain the letter written by Jha.

"My dear friends, from the rank of Delhi Home Guard to IPS, this is an open challenge. If you really think you're capable, then catch me if you can. You file false cases, harass innocent people, and defame them to the point where they can't even earn a living. But you forget that when an honest man turns to crime, it gets dangerous,” the letter reads.

Telling the police about his involvement in another murder, Jha further said: "I also want to tell SHO Hoshiyar Singh regarding the dead body found on 20.10.2006, you didn't properly investigate it.”

"Bodies will keep coming unless you arrange a meeting between me and DCP Manish Kumar Aggarwal. Announce a reward to make this game more interesting. Ensure the reward is worthy of my work, or I'll be dishonoured and make sure to shame all of you,” the letter concluded.

Jha was sentenced to death twice, which was later commuted to life imprisonment by the court.