Serial killer held after 17 months on the run

A convicted serial killer lodged in Tihar jail, who was granted parole for 90 days but absconded, has been nabbed after giving law enforcement agencies the slip for 17 months, Delhi Police said on Saturday.

- Karn Pratap Singh

NEW DELHI:

Chandrakant Jha, 58, was apprehended from the Old Delhi railway station while he was attempting to catch a train to Bihar, officers said, bringing an end to a dramatic game of cat-and-mouse in the Capital.

Accused of killing at least seven people, Jha gained infamy after he dumped decapitated bodies outside Tihar jail, along with a letter, daring authorities to catch him. He was finally arrested in May 2007, and initially received two death sentences and life imprisonment until death. However, Jha's sentence was in January 2016, commuted to life imprisonment without remission.