A 62-year-old serial killer, Devender Sharma, infamously known as “Dr. Death,” was apprehended in Baprola, India, after absconding from prison. He was serving a life sentence in Jaipur, Rajasthan, for the murder of numerous taxi drivers. This arrest has brought to light the terrifying extent of Sharma’s crimes, with estimates suggesting he may be responsible for over 50, and potentially up to 200 murders.
Devender Sharma, originally a practitioner of traditional Indian medicine, held a Bachelor’s in Ayurvedic Medicine (BAMS). In the early 1980s, he ran a clinic in Rajasthan. However, a financial setback from a fraudulent gas company investment led him down a dark path into a world of crime to recover his lost wealth.
In 1994, Sharma, adopting the alias Dr. Mukesh Khandelwal, orchestrated a criminal enterprise involved in gas truck robberies in Uttar Pradesh. Sharma and his accomplices would intercept trucks transporting LPG cylinders, murder the drivers, and then sell the stolen cylinders for profit. They also disposed of the vehicles, either selling them intact or dismantling them for parts. During this period, Sharma also engaged in illegal organ harvesting, becoming a key player in a kidney transplant racket. He reportedly performed around 125 illegal kidney transplants between 1994 and 2004, earning approximately $7,000 to $9,000 per kidney.
Sharma’s murderous activities extended to taxi drivers in the region. His method involved hiring taxis and directing them to secluded locations where he would strangle the drivers. Indian news sources indicate strangulation was his primary method of killing. To eliminate any trace, Sharma disposed of the bodies in the Hazara canal, known for its crocodile population, mirroring his disposal method for the truck drivers’ bodies. The stolen taxis were then sold in Kashganj or broken down for parts and sold in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. This gruesome taxi driver murder spree occurred between 2002 and 2004, with the criminal group profiting about $300 per murder.
Law enforcement finally caught Devender Sharma in 2004 while he was in the process of murdering a taxi driver. He was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment for multiple murders. Despite Sharma’s belief that the Hazara canal would conceal his crimes indefinitely, authorities recovered items belonging to two of his taxi driver victims. These victims, brothers who drove a taxi, had picked up Sharma and his gang and suffered the same fate as others – strangulation and disposal in the canal. However, their bodies floated downstream to Gangahar, where their possessions aided in their identification. This discovery initiated the investigation that led to Sharma’s arrest and the moniker “Dr. Death” in the media.
After serving over fifteen years, Sharma was granted a 20-day parole. Seizing this opportunity, he escaped, determined to evade capture permanently. Six months later, a tip-off led police to Baprola, a village near Delhi, approximately 250 miles from Jaipur. He was found living with a widow whom he had married. The information surfaced when police requested details about any suspected criminals in the area.
Upon his re-arrest, Sharma confessed his intention to never return to prison and to start anew. His criminal tendencies remained, as he had already begun a property scam in Baprola, attempting to sell land he did not own. Sharma was returned to jail where he confessed to his extensive list of murders. He admitted to losing count after 50, but police suspect the actual number could be far higher, possibly exceeding 200. Investigators noted Sharma displayed no remorse, suggesting a disturbing enjoyment in the act of killing.
