Kriti Mehrotra
With Netflix’s ‘Indian Predator: The Diary of a Serial Killer’ living up to its title in every way imaginable, we get an insight into the way a disappearance led to an alleged cannibal coming to light. In other words, the 2000 case of Dhirendra Singh is at the front and center of this 3-part original, with a specific focus on the human aspects behind it all through first-hand accounts of his family. So now, if you wish to learn more about this matter — the details of everything that transpired, its ensuing extensive investigations, as well as its unexpected aftermath — we’ve got you covered.
How Did Dhirendra Singh Die?
As the youngest of four sons born into a labor-class family in the village of Bairi in Uttar Pradesh, India, Dhirendra (or Dheerendra) Singh realized early on that hard work is the key to success. He thus took up a journalist job soon after graduating college (despite having a degree in the Sciences), just to quickly rise the ranks owing to his dedication, passion for community pieces, and contacts. In fact, by the time he was in his early 30s, he’d established a name for himself at a Hindi daily newspaper called Aaj, which is why his sudden vanishing left everyone completely baffled.
Since Dhirendra was not one to miss work without prior notice, he’d informed colleagues he won’t be coming in on December 14, 2000, because he had familial obligations in the village. However, that fateful morning was the last time he was seen or heard from alive as he never even made it back home — an official missing person’s report was thus filed around the 17th. He had a cellphone, yet it was switched off; his bike was nowhere to be found; and tracing his last known steps was also a bust, that is, until his perpetrator admitted he’d slain the journalist.
Dhirendra’s naked and headless remains had actually been found in a forest area in the district of Rewa, just ahead of Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, by local officials the following morning. But of course, it was not until the whole truth came out on December 18 that he was identified for good — his decapitated head was then recovered from Bansagar Lake in Madhya Pradesh. It came to light the young family man had been shot once in the head before being dumped in Rewa, where not only was his head cut off to avoid recognition, but his genitals were as well.
Who Killed Dhirendra Singh?
Uttar Pradesh locals Ram Niranjan (better known as Raja Kolander) and his brother-in-law Vaksharaj Kol are the two individuals responsible for Dhirendra’s horrifically outrageous homicide. According to the Netflix production, one of the last calls made from the journalist’s cellphone was to the former’s landline (on December 16), which immediately linked him to the matter. Nevertheless, when they intercepted Raja while he was driving back home with the latter, they followed their inkling of something being amiss and took the duo into custody for questioning.
It was then that they used all means necessary to get to the truth, especially after someone noticed Vaksharaj’s shoes were eerily similar to the ones Dhirendra owned, per the docuseries. He did ultimately concede the footwear was the deceased’s, and the missing cellphone was actually in the backseat of the vehicle they’d been traveling in, just to add he’d helped Raja kill him. The latter then told officers they’d pulled the trigger on the journalist upon cordially inviting him over to his piggery farm, yet they didn’t dispose of his remains until that night, according to ‘Indian Predator.’
Raja initially claimed their intense political rivalries as well as an illicit affair between Dhirendra and his wife as his motive, but the truth is it was purely self-preservation. He’d ostensibly realized the reporter had caught wind of his car-looting and/or murderous activities, causing him to end the matter before he could even report on the same. It didn’t work out too well for him, though, since the ensuing investigations unveiled the gruesome details of his criminal past as an alleged serial killer and cannibal. Raja and Vaksharaj were apprehended on December 18, 2000, only to be sentenced to life imprisonment for murder more than a decade later; on November 30, 2012.
Read More: Where is Serial Killer Raja Kolander (Ram Niranjan) Now?
