Devender Kumar Sharma was hiding at a Rajasthan ashram. 
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement. 

A death row convict who killed over 50 people and threw their bodies in a crocodile-infested canal, and facilitated at least 125 illegal kidney transplants, was arrested from Rajasthan after he jumped parole two years ago, a police officer said on Tuesday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Aditya Gautam said Devender Kumar Sharma, 67, a resident of Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, was granted two-month parole on June 9, 2023, but he failed to return and went into hiding.

“We located him in Dausa, Rajasthan, where he was hiding at an ashram under a fake identity of a priest. He was arrested on Monday,” said the DCP.

He had jumped parole earlier too in 2020 when he went absconding for seven months and married a widow working at an NGO.

Kidney trafficking

Sharma, an ayurvedic doctor, joined a kidney transplant racket after suffering huge losses in the gas agency business. He had confessed to facilitating at least 125 illegal kidney transplants between 1998 and 2004, and earning around ₹7 lakh per procedure.

At the same time, he formed a gang that intercepted trucks transporting LPG cylinders, killed the drivers and stole the consignments.

The gang also targeted taxi drivers, kidnapping and killing them and selling their vehicles in the grey market. Sharma had revealed that he had dumped bodies of vehicle owners into a canal in U.P.’s Kasganj that had crocodiles. According to police, he had murdered over two dozen people.

Sharma was arrested in 2004 in connection with the kidney racket and the serial killings.

“He was sentenced to life imprisonment in seven separate murder cases across Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana, and awarded the death penalty in one case,” the DCP added.

Parallelly, he formed a gang that intercepted trucks carrying LPG cylinders, killed the drivers and stole the consignments.

The gang also targeted taxi drivers by kidnapping and killing them and selling their vehicles in the grey market. Sharma had revealed that he had dumped several bodies into a canal in U.P.’s Kasganj that bred crocodiles. According to police, he had murdered over two dozen people.

Sharma was arrested in 2004 in connection with the kidney racket and the serial killings.

“He was sentenced to life imprisonment in seven separate murder cases across Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana, and awarded the death penalty in one case,” the DCP added.