Rajender Raju, a key associate of ‘Dr. Death’ Devender Sharma has finally been arrested after 21 years. He was caught on Saturday, June 14, in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, by Delhi Police’s Crime Branch, as informed by the authorities.
“The team traced Raju to Kasimpur in Aligarh, where he was hiding in an isolated room and working as a security guard at a local pump house. He was arrested and brought back to Delhi,” said the DCP.
Who is Rajender Raju, and What Did He Do
As per reports, 59-year-old Rajender Raju helped serial killer Devender Kumar Sharma, a BAMS degree holder, who, along with his gang, used to hire taxi and truck drivers, kill them, and dump their bodies in a crocodile-infested canal in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh. The gang would then sell the stolen vehicles in the grey market for ₹20,000 to ₹25,000 each.
Raju joined Sharma’s gang in 2003 and, according to the police, helped carry out at least 21 kidnappings and murders across Delhi and Gurugram between 2003 and 2004.
Raju has 12 prior criminal involvements, including cases of murder, kidnapping, and robbery. He was wanted in four murder cases registered in Delhi and Gurugram in which he was never arrested. All concerned police stations have been informed of his arrest.Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) Aditya Gautam
The Jaipur Murder Case and False Identity
While on the run, Raju committed another murder in Jaipur, Rajasthan, in 2007. He was arrested by the Rajasthan Police and sentenced to life imprisonment, which he served from 2007 to 2021. Since he was using a false identity at the time, the police had no idea about his earlier crimes in Delhi and Gurugram.
He was released on bail in 2021 and was declared a proclaimed offender in 2024, when one of the cases registered against him at Sarita Vihar Police Station in Southeast Delhi came to light.
How Raju Was Caught
On May 19, police arrested serial killer Devender Sharma from Dausa, Rajasthan, where he had been hiding inside an ashram and posing as a godman. Sharma, 67, was first arrested in 2004, but later jumped parole in 2020. He was on the run for seven months before being caught again by the Crime Branch, only to jump parole once more in 2023.
During interrogation, Sharma revealed that Raju was still on the run. This prompted the RK Puram Crime Branch team, which had arrested Sharma, to launch a parallel manhunt for Raju.
Enquiries were conducted across Uttar Pradesh, Jaipur, Delhi, and Haryana. Eventually, the team traced Raju to Kasimpur in Aligarh, where he had been working as a security guard at a local pump house and hiding in an isolated room. He was finally arrested and brought back to Delhi.
Raju told police that he is originally from Aligarh and worked as a farmer before joining Sharma’s gang.
Finally in Custody
After more than two decades on the run, a long-missing piece of the serial killings case has finally been brought back into police custody.
(Input From Various Sources)
(Rehash/Pooja Bansal/MSM)