New Delhi: After evading the law for 24 years, a man accused of murdering multiple cab drivers and selling their vehicles across the Nepal border has been arrested by the Delhi Police Crime Branch. Ajay Lamba, 48, was wanted in four brutal murder-cum-robbery cases dating back to 2001. He was finally nabbed following sustained surveillance and investigation.
Lamba, along with his accomplices, would hire taxis from Delhi and nearby states, travel towards Uttarakhand, and then execute a chilling plan. They would sedate the drivers, strangle them to death, and dump their bodies in remote hill areas to avoid detection. The stolen vehicles were smuggled across the border and sold in Nepal.
"The accused, a notorious robber-cum-murderer, was involved in four brutal robbery-cum-murder cases targeting cab drivers across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand during the year 2001," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Aditya Gautam in a statement.
What Led To the Final Arrest?
Police said that Lamba lived in Nepal between 2008 and 2018, before settling in Dehradun with his family. In 2020, he reportedly joined a drug supply chain, transporting ganja from Odisha to Delhi and other parts of India. He was arrested in an NDPS case in Delhi in 2021 and later in a jewellery shop robbery in Behrampur, Odisha in 2024. He was out on bail in both cases.
Throughout these years, Lamba kept his past under wraps. “He never disclosed his involvement in the 2001 murders or his absconding status to anyone,” the police said.
Two of Lamba’s former associates, Dhirendra and Dilip Negi, were arrested earlier. Of the four drivers murdered, police have managed to recover only one body.
Class 6 Dropout Turned Serial Killer
Originally from Delhi, Lamba dropped out of school in Class 6 and later moved to Bareilly. There, he formed a deadly alliance with Dhirendra and Negi, targeting unsuspecting cab drivers.
He also faces several other cases, including theft and illegal arms possession.
Police believe Lamba may have been involved in more killings. He is now being interrogated for further leads.
