From 'Dr Jhatka' to murder accused: Delhi Police catches fugitive after 28 years
A man who allegedly reinvented himself as a small-town "doctor", married, raised a family and quietly ran a clinic in Madhya Pradesh while evading law for nearly 28 years over the murder of a cop has been finally arrested by the Delhi Police.
Rajinder Bairagi alias Rajinder Singh Yadav alias "Dr Jhatka" (53), a proclaimed offender in multiple cases in Delhi and Haryana, had been absconding since escaping from Uttar Pradesh Police custody in 1999 while being escorted in handcuffs from Ghaziabad Jail to a court in Haryana, an official said on Thursday.
"He was arrested from Mungaoli in Madhya Pradesh's Ashok Nagar district after a months-long multi-state operation by the Crime Branch," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Chander Kumar Singh said.
The officer further said that the accused managed to remain beyond the reach of law enforcement by assuming a fresh identity, obtaining official documents, including an Aadhaar card, PAN card, voter identity card, driving licence and domicile certificate, and blending into the local community.
Police said he first stayed in Maharashtra, where he worked as a physical education teacher at a Kendriya Vidyalaya for about a year, before shifting to Mungaoli.
"In MP, he adopted the name Rajender Singh Yadav, married a government Auxiliary Nurse Midwife in 2003, started working as an unregistered medical practitioner -- earning the nickname 'Dr Jhatka' -- and simultaneously dealt in property and small contracts," the officer said.
The couple has two school-going children, and neighbours knew him only by his assumed identity, making it difficult for police to establish his real background.
The officer further said that the breakthrough came when the crime branch reopened efforts to trace long-absconding proclaimed offenders wanted in heinous crimes. Officers were initially pursuing two 1997 attempt-to-murder cases registered at Janakpuri police station in Delhi, in which Rajinder had been declared a proclaimed offender in 2008.
During the investigation, officers uncovered his alleged role in the sensational 1998 murder of Haryana Police personnel Jai Bhagwan.
According to the police, Rajinder and five armed associates allegedly opened indiscriminate fire during a wedding function at Saiyan Khera village in Sonipat on May 10, 1998, following an altercation with the bride's family.
"Jai Bhagwan, the bride's uncle and a serving Haryana Police personnel, was killed, while another person suffered critical injuries. Rajinder was arrested in the case but allegedly escaped from police custody on February 14, 1999, at Gannaur railway station while being taken from Ghaziabad Jail to a Sonipat court, prompting another criminal case against him," the officer said.
The team of the crime branch said painstaking field intelligence, technical surveillance and digital analysis eventually exposed his false identity despite the official documents he had procured. After confirming his movements, a police team raided his residence in Mungaoli and apprehended him.
"The team procured his transit remand, and he was formally arrested in Delhi," the officer said, adding that Rajinder is wanted in at least eight criminal cases, including murder, attempt to murder, Arms Act violations, theft and escape from lawful custody.
Further interrogation is underway to ascertain whether he was involved in other offences during the nearly three decades he remained a fugitive.
