Latest news with #DevenderSharma
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Time of India
From killer to 'priest': 2 years after jumping parole, Delhi's ‘Dr Death', involved in murder, kidney transplant racket, held from ashram in Rajasthan
Dr. Devender Sharma, infamously known as 'Doctor Death,' was rearrested after jumping parole, Delhi police reported on Monday. Sharma, 67, was found living as a priest in Rajasthan. NEW DELHI: Nearly two years after he jumped parole, Dr Devender Sharma , notorious as ' Doctor Death ', was on Monday arrested by Delhi police from an ashram in Rajasthan's Dausa, where he was living as a 'priest'. Sharma (67) was involved in the abduction and murders of truck and taxi drivers in Delhi and other states in the early 2000s, and was also convicted of his role in a kidney racket . First arrested in 2004, he was granted a two-month parole on June 9, 2023, but went into hiding instead of returning to prison. DCP (crime) Aditya Gautam said on Tuesday that a police team launched an investigation across several locations, including Aligarh, Jaipur and Delhi. Over a period of six months, the cops explored possible hiding spots, including Agra and Prayagraj. Finally, they traced Sharma to an ashram in Dausa, where he was living under a false identity, posing as a priest. From 1998 to 2004, 'Dr Death' involved in kidney transplants A native of Aligarh, UP, Sharma graduated with a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) degree in 1984. His father worked for a pharmaceutical company in Siwan, Bihar. Sharma later set up and ran a clinic in Rajasthan for 11 years. In 1994, he faced a major financial setback after being defrauded of Rs 11 lakh in a gas dealership scam. By 1995, he himself allegedly started a fake gas agency to recover his losses. Between 1998 and 2004, Sharma allegedly became involved in illegal kidney transplants , working closely with a person named Dr Amit. He allegedly facilitated more than 125 illegal kidney transplants, earning between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 7 lakh per procedure. Sharma earlier told police that as an intermediary, he arranged kidney donors for Dr Amit. In 2004, Sharma was arrested in Gurgaon in connection with the kidney racket. Around the same time, he and his gang were also allegedly involved in the abduction and serial killing of taxi drivers and disposing of their bodies in the crocodile-infested Hazara canal in UP's Kasganj. Each vehicle sold in the grey market in UP earned them between Rs 20,000 and Rs 25,000. Sharma was charged with the murder of 21 truck and taxi drivers and sentenced to life imprisonment in seven cases across Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana. He was also sentenced to death by a Gurgaon court for the murder of a taxi driver. Sharma confessed to killing more than 50 people. His horrific crimes led to his wife and children abandoning him. In 2020, Sharma was granted a 20-day parole but jumped bail, staying at large for seven months before being apprehended in Delhi. In June 2023, he was again granted parole for two months, but failed to return to prison.
New Indian Express
21-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Serial killer, who fed victims to crocs, held after jumping parole at ashram in Rajasthan
NEW DELHI: Ayurveda practitioner-turned-serial killer – the infamous Doctor Death, who fed his victims to crocodiles – was arrested by Delhi Police after he jumped parole last year, a senior official absconder was posing as a priest under a false identity at an ashram in Rajasthan's Dausa when he was arrested on Monday, he added. 67-year-old Devender Sharma was convicted in multiple murder cases. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in seven separate cases across Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana, and a Gurgaon court even awarded him capital punishment. DCP (Crime Branch) Aditya Gautam said Sharma had been serving life sentence in Tihar Jail for the brutal killings of several taxi and truck drivers between 2002 and 2004, when he jumped parole in August 2023.
Hindustan Times
21-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Fugitive ‘serial killer' living at Raj ashram as priest arrested by Delhi Police
An ayurveda doctor convicted in seven murder cases and absconding for the last two years was residing at an ashram as a priest in Rajasthan and treating devotees for ailments — till Monday, when he was finally arrested after a seven-month long manhunt, Delhi Police officers said on Tuesday. Sixty seven-year-old Devender Sharma, who is charged of murdering 21 men between 2002 and 2004, had jumped his parole two years back for a second time in June 2023. Sharma was one of the most wanted criminals in 2004 as he specifically targeted taxi drivers and confessed to have killed over 50 men, according to police. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2004. However, in 2020, he was released on parole and was absconding till he was nabbed few months later. In June 2023, he was again released on a two-month parole, which he too jumped. In 2004, according to Delhi Police, Sharma said he had abducted over 21 taxi drivers from Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Prades, Rajasthan, murdered them, .and dumped the bodies in crocodile-infested lakes in UP's Kasganj to destroy evidence. Police said that he also facilitated more than 125 illegal kidney transplants in Delhi-NCR between 1994-2004. The Crime Branch arrested him from Rajasthan's Dausa on Monday after a seven-month long operation during which searches were conducted across Delhi, Jaipur, Aligarh, Mumbai, Aligarh, Agra, and Prayagraj. A team led by ACP Umesh Barthwal and inspector Rakesh Kumar had first zeroed in on Sharma's family residing in Mumbai. 'We put his wife's and family members' phone on surveillance. Then, an interesting pattern emerged. We found that a majority of the unknown number calls were received from either temples or religious sites across India…There were calls from Ashrams, temples in UP, even Mahakumbh area…' said an investigator aware of the details. Further analysis led police to recent calls being made from Dausa in Rajasthan. 'Our aim was to first look at all temples and religious sites. We had a hunch that Sharma could be hiding at a religious place,' added the investigator, wishing not to be named. DCP (crime) Aditya Gautam said that investigators last week found that Sharma was residing at an ashram as a priest. He had changed his name to Devdas and was treating patients by prescribing them medicines, said police. Gautam said his team stayed at Dausa for over a week and posed as devotees at the ashram to look for the accused. Another investigator said, 'We looked for him at multiple places and then found him as a local priest-doctor at an ashram. When I went to check and posed as a devotee with blood pressure issues, he asked me to put ghee on my head. We identified him and arrested him.' Sharma, who held a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery degree, ran an Ayurveda clinic in Bandikui, Rajasthan for 11 years. In 1994, he was duped of ₹11 lakh in a gas dealership scam, after which he started his own fake gas agency. Around 1998, police said that he came in contact with his co-accused, Dr Amit Kumar, and they started a kidney racket. Police said that around the same time, he and his gang started abducting taxi drivers at night, killed them for their cars, and later sold the vehicles. He was arrested by the Gurugram and the Delhi Police after a Gurugram-based cab driver went missing in 2003 and his car was found in Delhi.
Mint
20-05-2025
- Mint
Serial killer ‘Doctor Death', who fed victims to crocodiles, arrested by Delhi Police from Rajasthan's Dausa
The Delhi police arrested 67-year-old Devender Sharma, the Ayurvedic practitioner-turned-serial killer who jumped parole last year. Sharma is infamous as 'Doctor Death' for feeding his victims to crocodiles. Sharma, who was convicted in multiple murder cases, was arrested on Monday when he was posing as a priest under a false identity at an ashram in Rajasthan's Dausa, reported PTI quoting official. Police suspect that Sharma, who has a long criminal history involving at least 27 cases of murder, kidnapping and robbery, could have involvement in over 50 murder cases. In seven separate cases across Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana, Devender Sharma has been sentenced to life imprisonment. A Gurgaon court has even awarded him the capital punishment. 'Sharma had been serving life sentence in Tihar Jail for the brutal killings of several taxi and truck drivers between 2002 and 2004, when he jumped parole in August 2023,' said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Aditya Gautam. The officer added that Sharma and his accomplices used to call drivers on fake trips, murder them and sell their vehicles in the grey market. The bodies were then thrown into the crocodile-infested waters of Hazara Canal at Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh to erase all evidence. "Sharma had jumped parole in August 2023 while serving his sentence at Tihar Jail and had been on the run since. Crime branch was tasked to search for him. Following a six-month-long operation spanning several cities including Aligarh, Jaipur, Delhi, Agra and Prayagraj, the team tracked him to an ashram in Dausa, where he was posing as a spiritual man under a false identity," said the DCP. Sharma was arrested in 2004 in connection with both the kidney racket and the serial killings. — On January 28, 2020, he was granted a 20-day parole but he was at large for seven months before the crime branch arrested him from Delhi in July. — In June 2023, Sharma was granted parole again for two months in a case registered at Sarita Vihar police station, but he disappeared after August 3, 2023.
NDTV
20-05-2025
- NDTV
Serial Killer Who Fed Victims To Crocodiles Arrested From Rajasthan: Police
New Delhi: A notorious serial killer infamous as 'Doctor Death' was arrested by Delhi Police after he jumped parole last year, a senior official said on Tuesday. The criminal was arrested a day before from an ashram in Rajasthan's Dausa, where he was posing as a priest under a false identity, he said. An Ayurveda practitioner-turned-criminal, 67-year-old Devender Sharma was convicted in multiple murder cases and was notorious for dumping his victims' bodies in the crocodile-infested waters of Hazara Canal at Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in seven separate cases across Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana, and a Gurgaon court has even awarded him the capital punishment. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Aditya Gautam said Devender Sharma, a BAMS (bachelor of ayurvedic medicine and surgery) degree holder, had been serving life sentence in Tihar Jail for the brutal killings of several taxi and truck drivers between 2002 and 2004, when he jumped parole in August 2023. "Sharma and his accomplices used to call drivers for fake trips, murder them and sell their vehicles in the grey market," DCP Gautam said. The bodies were then thrown into the Hazara Canal, known for its crocodile population, to erase all evidence. The officer said Sharma has a long criminal history involving at least 27 cases of murder, kidnapping and robbery. He first gained notoriety for running an illicit kidney transplant racket between 1998 and 2004. He had confessed to facilitating more than 125 illegal transplants with the help of doctors and middlemen operating in several states. Sharma turned to crime after incurring heavy financial losses in a failed gas dealership deal in 1994. A year later, he began running a fake gas agency and subsequently entered the illegal organ trade. His criminal pursuits then expanded to targeted killings of taxi drivers. The modus operandi involved hiring taxis, murdering the drivers, and selling their vehicles in the grey market. The bodies were fed to crocodiles. Sharma was arrested in 2004 in connection with both the kidney racket and the serial killings. "He was sentenced to life imprisonment in seven separate murder cases across Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana, and even received the death penalty from a Gurgaon court in one case. Police believe he was responsible for over 50 murders," said the officer. During his time as a fugitive, Sharma was living in disguise as a priest at an ashram in Rajasthan's Dausa. "Sharma had jumped parole in August 2023 while serving his sentence at Tihar Jail and had been on the run since. Crime branch was tasked to search for him. Following a six-month-long operation spanning several cities including Aligarh, Jaipur, Delhi, Agra and Prayagraj, the team tracked him to an ashram in Dausa, where he was posing as a spiritual man under a false identity," said the DCP. This is not the first time Sharma has absconded while on parole. In 2020, he failed to return after a 20-day parole and remained at large for seven months before being caught in Delhi. In June 2023, he was granted parole again for two months in a case registered at Sarita Vihar police station, but he disappeared after August 3, 2023.
