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Chanderkant Jha terrorised Delhi in 2006 and 2007 with a spate of killings that put him on the police's radar as one of the most wanted serial killers back then. After he was arrested, the 57-year-old serial killer was sentenced to death. The conviction was changed to life imprisonment in 2016.
He had other plans though. In October 2023, he was supposed to return to jail after spending 90 days on parole. Instead, he decided to disappear.
The Delhi Police announced he has been arrested again.
"Chanderkant Jha carried a reward of Rs 50,000. He has been traced... After several months of surveillance and planning, he was arrested from New Delhi railway station," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Sanjay Sen 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 (markets) across Delhi-NCR, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, where Jha had once worked," Mr Sen said.
Analysing voluminous call data records, the team identified a suspicious mobile number that ultimately led them to Chanderkant Jha's location. He was arrested on January 17 as he attempted to flee to Bihar from Old Delhi Railway Station, the police officer said.
Originally from Bihar, Chanderkant Jha lived 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, the police said.
"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 predetermined locations, often near Tihar Jail," Mr Sen said.
The serial killer would leave handwritten notes with the dismembered bodies, taunting the police and challenging them to catch him. He dumped a lot of bodies near Tihar Jail.
His first recorded murder dates back to 1998 when he killed Mangal alias Aurangzeb in Delhi's Adarsh Nagar, dismembering the body and scattering its parts.
Arrested in 1998, he was released in 2002. After his release, he resumed killing, police said.
In June 2003, Chanderkant Jha killed his friend Shekhar in Haiderpur for being a drunkard and liar, disposing of the body in Alipur. In November 2003, Umesh, a migrant from Bihar, was killed for alleged betrayal, and his body was dumped near Tihar Jail.
In November 2005, he killed Guddu for his habits, including smoking marijuana and disposed of the body in Mangolpuri, the police said. In October 2006, Amit, accused of womanising, met a similar fate, with his body left outside Tihar Jail.