Indian Predator The Butcher of Delhi is a true-crime documentary series released on Netflix on 20 July 2022. It is produced by VICE India, the series is directed by renowned film-maker Ayesha Sood with Srusti Jain and Nandita Gupta serving as the series producer and creative producer, respectively.
The series will trace the story of a notorious serial killer who ruthlessly dismembered his victims and scattered their body parts around India’s national capital, Delhi. There are 3 episodes in total with a runtime of about 41-44 minutes respectively.
Netflix’s synopsis of the series reads:
A series of mutilated bodies and taunting notes left outside a Delhi jail sends police hunting for a seasoned killer with a grudge against the system.
-Indian Predator The Butcher of Delhi Review Contain Spoilers-
3 Mutilated Bodies Over the Span of Two Years
The series starts off with news snippets talking about the discovery of dead bodies in different locations in Delhi. We are then introduced to Sunder Singh, who was the investigating officer of the case. He tells us that, on 20 October 2006, a phone call was received at Hari Nagar Police station. The man on the other end said that he has left a dead body outside Tihar jail gate number 3.
The receiving officer sends in an officer to check and there they find a headless body with a letter. In the content of the letter, the killer had challenged the police to catch him and showed hatred towards the system, which had falsely imprisoned him earlier for the crimes he didn’t do. The killer called again to know if they have investigated and found any clue.
However, since there was no head, police were unable to identify the body and on further investigation, they were able to trace the call. They even got the sketch of the suspect made from the description of the PCO owner but without many clues, there wasn’t any more progress. Until 25th April 2007, when another mutilated body was found at the exact spot.
And some parts were thrown outside Tis Hazari court and within a few more days, another dead torso with a letter was found on 18 May. In the letter, he made fun of the police for not being able to identify the victim, who even had his name tattooed on his arm. He further wrote that he has done many murders and will be sending in more gifts (bodies).
One peculiar thing about the letter was that he always signed it as CC, in the end. Maybe it was his name’s initials of an alias. He even mentioned that he has to murder 7-8 people in a year or he starts to lose his mind. The discovery of the third body was when the police were put under immense pressure to solve the case before another body appears.
That’s when the special investigation team was able to trace down the suspect serial killer, through informants which lead to the killer’s doctor and people who know him personally. They traced down his call location and on searching the picked area they were able to catch him by 20th May 2007.
During questioning, the man told his name to be Chandrakant Jha, a native of Bihar who worked as a hawker at Azadpur Mandi. He confessed to everything and told everything in detail but there weren’t any direct proofs that linked him to the crime. Police had to find the heads of the bodies and weapons etc in order to present them in court and convict him.
Final Thoughts: Stream It or Skip It?
Indian Predator The Butcher of Delhi on Netflix is a bone-chilling documentary which is unfortunately a true event. In the first and second episodes, you majorly feel that the serial killer is someone who has been wronged by the police and the system. It was his way to retaliate against them, to show their incapability and injustice.
But as we move towards the end of the second episode and in the third, when we get more information about his background, I genuinely felt afraid of the man and the thought that he could be a victim too just went to the bin. Should we blame the troubled childhood and the parents or the killer himself for being innately evil?
The documentary also puts forward the reality of the lower strata of the society who are so beaten down by the people above them and how even justice is not on their side in most cases, even neglects them. This documentary is a definite watch which makes you question the society you live in.
Indian Predator The Butcher of Delhi is streaming on Netflix.
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