Archive · 7 Aug 2026
On the run 27 years, fugitive Dr Jhatka finally arrested
A man named Rajinder Bairagi was wanted by the police for more than 27 years.
The police said he was involved in killing a police constable in Haryana in 1998.
A year later, he escaped from police custody even while wearing handcuffs.
After that, he lived in a small town in Madhya Pradesh under a different name.
He worked as a doctor, even though he was not a registered doctor, and also sold property.
He married and had two teenage children.
His neighbours knew him as 'Dr Jhatka.'
The nickname comes from a character in the cartoon 'Motu Patlu.'
This week, the Delhi Police Crime Branch found him.
After more than 27 years, the law finally caught up with him.
Rajinder Bairagi, wanted for killing a Haryana Police constable in 1998, was found by the law after more than 27 years on the run.
A year after the killing, he escaped from police custody while still in handcuffs.
The Delhi Police Crime Branch traced him to a small town in Madhya Pradesh.
For years he passed as 'Dr Jhatka,' an unregistered medical practitioner and property dealer, and as Rajender Singh Yadav to neighbours.
The 53-year-old was a husband and father of two teenagers; investigators say his criminal trail began in the late 1990s.
- Who
- Rajinder Bairagi, a 53-year-old fugitive who used the aliases 'Dr Jhatka' and Rajender Singh Yadav
- What
- A fugitive wanted for killing a Haryana Police constable in 1998 and for multiple attempt-to-murder cases was found after more than 27 years on the run, living under a false identity
- When
- Earlier this week; the alleged killing occurred in 1998 and the escape from custody about a year later
- Where
- Found in a small town in Madhya Pradesh; the constable was killed in Haryana
- Why
- He was wanted for killing a Haryana Police constable and for multiple attempt-to-murder cases
- Fugitive
- Rajinder Bairagi (aliases: 'Dr Jhatka', Rajender Singh Yadav)
- Age
- 53
- Wanted for
- Killing a Haryana Police constable (1998); multiple attempt-to-murder cases
- Escape
- From police custody while handcuffed, a year after the killing
- Time on the run
- More than 27 years
- Arresting agency
- Delhi Police Crime Branch
- Where found
- Small town in Madhya Pradesh
- Cover identity
- Unregistered medical practitioner and property dealer