The Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested 48-year-old Ajay Lamba, a long-wanted fugitive linked to a string of cab driver murders dating back to 2001. Lamba was apprehended near India Gate on Sunday, marking the end of a decades-long manhunt. He had been absconding for 24 years, during which he led a double life under multiple identities.

“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. He would hire taxis with accomplices, murder the drivers, rob the vehicles, and dispose of the bodies in remote mountainous regions to avoid detection,” Aditya Gautam, Deputy Commissioner of Police, said in a statement.

Sedate, Kill, Dump, and Sell

According to police officials, Lamba, along with accomplices, would hire taxis under the guise of being customers and travel to Uttarakhand. En route, the drivers were sedated, strangled, and their bodies dumped in remote hilly terrain to avoid detection. The stolen vehicles were then smuggled across the Indo-Nepal border and sold in Nepal.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Aditya Gautam described Lamba as a “notorious robber-cum-murderer” involved in at least four murder-cum-robbery cases across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

Only 1 Body Recovered

Of the four officially registered cases, only one cab driver’s body has been recovered to date. Authorities suspect the gang may be behind several more killings. Two of Lamba’s associates, Dhirendra and Dilip Negi, were arrested earlier. A third accomplice, Dheeraj, remains at large.

“In 2020, he allegedly became involved in the ganja supply chain from Odisha to other parts of India, including Delhi. He was recently arrested in a case registered under NDPS Act in 2021 in PS Sagarpur, Delhi and again in a jewellery shop dacoity case in Behrampur, Odisha in 2024. He was on bail in these cases. He never disclosed his involvement (in the 2001 murders) and absconding status to anyone,” said the police statement.

A Life of Crime: From Dropout to Drug Trafficker

Ajay Lamba, originally from Delhi, dropped out of school in Class 6 and later moved to Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. It was there he met his future accomplices. His criminal history goes beyond the murders, police say Lamba has been involved in theft, illegal arms possession, and narcotics trafficking.

From 2008 to 2018, he lived in Nepal, evading capture. He later settled in Dehradun with his family. In 2020, he reportedly became part of a drug trafficking network transporting cannabis from Odisha to Delhi and other states.

According to deputy commissioner of police Aditya Gautam, “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. He would hire taxis with accomplices, murder the drivers, rob the vehicles, and dispose of the bodies in remote mountainous regions to avoid detection.”

Recent Arrests Revealed Hidden Past

Lamba was previously arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in Delhi’s Sagarpur area in 2021. In 2024, he was also arrested for his alleged role in a jewellery store dacoity in Berhampur, Odisha. Despite these arrests, he never disclosed his involvement in the 2001 murders or his fugitive status.

Delhi Police said that Lamba was finally tracked using a combination of manual and technical surveillance. His arrest has brought renewed attention to unsolved missing persons cases involving taxi drivers over the past two decades.

Investigation Ongoing

The Delhi Police Crime Branch continues to question Lamba and is reopening old cases linked to his suspected network. Authorities believe more victims may be identified as the probe deepens.