Archive · 6 Aug 2026
Delhi Police arrests fugitive 'Dr Jhatka' after 28-year chase
A man named Rajinder Bairagi did some very bad things a long time ago.
He and his friends fired guns at a wedding party and killed a police officer.
The police arrested him, but he escaped while being taken to court, even though he was handcuffed.
For almost 28 years, he stayed hidden from the police.
He moved to a small town called Mungaoli and started using a fake name, Rajender Singh Yadav.
He got married and had two children.
He worked in a small clinic without being a licensed doctor, which is why people called him 'Dr Jhatka.'
He even got official documents like an Aadhaar card and driving licence under his fake name.
Police used detective work and technology to find out his true identity.
Finally, they caught him, and now he will have to answer for his crimes in court.
Delhi Police Crime Branch arrested Rajinder Bairagi alias 'Dr Jhatka' (53), a proclaimed offender on the run for nearly 28 years.
He is wanted for the May 10, 1998 fatal shooting of Haryana Police personnel Jai Bhagwan at a wedding in Saiyan Khera village, Sonipat, Haryana.
He escaped police custody on February 14, 1999, while handcuffed and being escorted by Uttar Pradesh Police from Ghaziabad Jail to a court in Sonipat.
He lived under the false identity Rajender Singh Yadav in Mungaoli, Madhya Pradesh, where he married, obtained official documents, and worked as an unregistered medical practitioner.
The Northern Range-1 Crime Branch team arrested him in a multi-state operation; he was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Dwarka, Delhi.
- Who
- Rajinder Bairagi alias Rajender Singh Yadav alias 'Dr Jhatka' (53), a proclaimed offender arrested by the Delhi Police Crime Branch.
- What
- The arrest of a fugitive wanted for the murder of Haryana Police personnel Jai Bhagwan, multiple attempt-to-murder cases, and escaping police custody.
- When
- The arrest came nearly 28 years after his February 14, 1999 custody escape; the murder occurred on May 10, 1998.
- Where
- Arrested in Mungaoli, Ashok Nagar district, Madhya Pradesh; earlier crimes occurred in Delhi and Sonipat, Haryana.
- Why
- He had eluded law enforcement since escaping custody and was targeted in a special drive to apprehend long-absconding proclaimed offenders.
- Accused
- Rajinder Bairagi alias Rajender Singh Yadav alias 'Dr Jhatka', age 53
- Wanted for
- Murder of Haryana Police personnel, multiple attempt-to-murder cases, escape from custody, Arms Act and theft offences
- Murder incident
- May 10, 1998, at a wedding in Saiyan Khera village, Sonipat, Haryana; victim Jai Bhagwan was the bride's uncle
- Custody escape
- February 14, 1999, while handcuffed, during transport from Ghaziabad Jail to a court in Sonipat
- Proclaimed offender
- Declared by Rohini Courts in 2008
- False identity
- Rajender Singh Yadav; worked as an unregistered medical practitioner, property dealer and contractor in Mungaoli
- Arrest location
- Mungaoli, Ashok Nagar district, Madhya Pradesh
- Arresting unit
- Northern Range-1, Crime Branch, Delhi Police, led by Inspector Sanjay Kaushik
