A notorious Ayurvedic doctor-turned-serial killer, known as "Doctor Death" for disposing of his victims by feeding them to crocodiles, has been arrested by Delhi Police after absconding while on parole last year, a senior official said on Tuesday.
The official confirmed that 67-year-old Devender Sharma, who was convicted in a multiple murder case, was arrested on Monday under a false identity, posing as a priest at an ashram in Rajasthan's Dausa.
He was serving multiple life sentences across Delhi, Haryana, and Rajasthan. In one instance, a Gurgaon court had even sentenced him to death, according to a report by PTI.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Aditya Gautam said Sharma had been imprisoned in Tihar Jail for the gruesome murders of numerous taxi and truck drivers between 2002 and 2004. He escaped custody after being granted parole in August 2023. Authorities suspect he may be linked to over 50 killings.
"Sharma and his accomplices used to call drivers on fake trips, murder them and sell their vehicles in the grey market," DCP Gautam said. To remove all evidence, the bodies of the victims were then thrown into the crocodile-infested waters of the Hazara Canal at Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh.
The officer stated that Sharma has a long criminal history involving no less than 27 cases of murder, kidnapping, and robbery.
He first gained notoriety for running an illicit kidney transplant racket between 1995 and 2004. Sharma, a BAMS (bachelor of ayurvedic medicine and surgery) degree holder, had opened a clinic in Rajasthan in 1984.
Sharma admitted to police that he had arranged over 125 illegal organ transplants with the assistance of doctors and brokers operating across multiple states.
From Financial Loss To A Series Of Murders
He turned to a life of crime after suffering major financial losses from a failed attempt to secure a gas dealership. In 1994, he invested Rs 11 lakh into a company for the dealership, which eventually collapsed.
By 1995, he had set up a fake gas agency and became involved in the illicit organ trade. From 1995 to 2004, Sharma formed a gang that allegedly hijacked trucks transporting LPG cylinders, murdered the drivers, and stole the shipments.
He also committed a series of murders targeting taxi drivers. His method typically involved hiring cabs, killing the drivers, selling the vehicles in illegal markets, and disposing of the bodies by feeding them to crocodiles.
"His gang used to dismantle trucks and sell them in the markets," said a police source. He is suspected of having murdered over two dozen people during this period. He was also involved in a racket and was reportedly charged with Rs 7 lakh per case.
In 2004, Sharma was apprehended 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.
While evading arrest, Sharma was living under a false identity as a priest at an ashram in Dausa, Rajasthan. "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 wasn't Sharma's first escape while on parole. He was previously granted 20 days of parole on January 28, 2020, but remained on the run for seven months before being caught in Delhi by the Crime Branch in July. He was again granted two months' parole in June 2023 in connection with a case from Sarita Vihar police station, but vanished after August 3, 2023.
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