Tailor-turned-killer admits to murdering 30 in 4 states
BHOPAL: ...he used to change not only the SIM card but the mobile phone too before committing any crime. He has changed 50 SIM cards and 45 mobile phones in past four years. RAHUL LODHA, Bhopal (South) SP
When they arrested him on Friday, the Madhya Pradesh police initially thought he was a tailor-turned-petty criminal.
But to their horror, the man confessed to having killed at least 30 people, mostly truckers, over the past eight years in his quest to “make more money”, police claimed on Sunday.
Police said Aadesh Khambra, 48, claimed he had killed 29 truck drivers and cleaners while working with more than half a dozen inter-state gangs.
He also confessed to killing a man from Hoshangabad for a contract sum of ₹25,000. His name has never figured on the list of the most wanted criminals, they police.
Khambra and his two accomplices — Jaikaran Prajapati from Bhopal and Tukaram Banjara from Nagpur in Maharashtra — were arrested by the Bhopal police on Friday for robbing a goods truck after killing the driver and cleaner.
Police said though the arrest was made in connection with a single case, during interrogation, Khambra confessed to his involvement in at least 30 murders in four states — Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. He also told the police that he did not remember several other murders but if they could recall the incidents, he might be able to tell them whether he was involved or not, said police.
Going by Khambra’s confession, he has committed 15 murders in MP, eight in Maharashtra, five in Chhattisgarh and two in Odisha, police said.
Bhopal police has written to its counterparts in the other three states to get information about blind murder cases involving truck drivers and cleaners.
The state police also sent teams to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and other parts of MP to track down the gangs with which Khambra was involved. “Initially, we didn’t think that Khambra was a serial killer given his calm nature. But later, his revelations were shocking to us. He has no regret for what he has done. We are interrogating him with the help of a psychologist,” Bhopal (south) SP Rahul Lodha said.
“On August 12, a truck laden with 50 tonnes of iron rods left the Mandideep industrial area for Bhopal but it was reported missing. A private company lodged a complaint in this regard. Later, police found the body of the truck driver Makhan Singh in Bilkhiriya area and also recovered the empty truck from Ayodhya Nagar in Bhopal on August 15.
Police arrested seven people, who sold and purchased the iron rods. The arrested people told the police about Jaikaran Prajapati who in turn named Khambra as the brains behind the crime. Police arrested Khambra from Mandideep,” said Lodha.
According to the police, Khambra started out as a tailor. In 2010, he came in contact with a gang from UP. Initially, his work was just to befriend truck drivers and invite them to a roadside liquor party. Later, he started killing the drivers and cleaners by giving them sedatives. He was arrested by the Nagpur police in 2014 but was released on bail, police said.
“When he was arrested by Nagpur police he had committed eight murders till then. But subsequently he committed the murders in such an organised manner that the police remained clueless ... he used to change not only the SIM card but the mobile phone too before committing any crime. He has changed 50 SIM cards and 45 mobile phones in the past four years,” said Lodha.