Uttar Pradesh News: Lucknow Court Convicts 'Skull Collector' Serial Killer And Accomplice In 2000 Businessman Murder Case

Lucknow: A Lucknow court convicted serial killer Raja Kolandar (alias Ram Niranjan) and accomplice Bachhraj Kol in the 2000 abduction and murder of businessman Manoj Kumar Singh (22) and his driver Ravi Shrivastava. The victims’ decapitated bodies were found in Prayagraj’s Shankargarh forests, their skulls never recovered. Sentencing is scheduled for Friday.

Kolandar, a former Central Ordnance Depot employee turned occult practitioner, was earlier sentenced to life in 2012 for murdering journalist Dhirendra Singh. During that investigation, 14 human skulls—labeled with victims’ names—were exhumed from his pig farm. Forensic evidence confirmed he boiled heads to clean them before burial.

In the 2000 case, witness testimony revealed Kolandar lured victims under the guise of transporting a “sick passenger.” The prosecution proved the murders were premeditated, involving robbery and ritualistic elements.

Retired IPS Rajesh Pandey noted Kolandar’s political connections delayed justice; no cases were filed against him until 2000 despite local suspicions. The killings came to light only after Dhirendra’s headless corpse was found near the UP-MP border. Under interrogation, Kolandar admitted to cannibalism, claiming he consumed brain matter as “ritual offerings.”