When police found a white Tata hatchback parked on the service lane of Delhi’s Peeragarhi flyover on February 8, a routine check led to a shocking discovery – there were three bodies inside, with no immediate connection between the victims. Investigators soon found themselves in the middle of one of the most interesting multi-state investigations ever, centered on a 72-year-old former bangle trader, who they discovered was the alleged mastermind of a clandestine racket mixing superstition and psychology, and a suspect in multiple deaths over four decades.
was the prime suspect in the case Identified as KamruddinA native of Firozabad, who is now accused of running a huge clandestine network. Despite having previously been accused of at least two murders, he managed to continue his so-called “practice” and is suspected of having murdered more people than he has been formally charged with.
Peeragadhi deaths
On February 8, the bodies of Jahangirpuri resident Randhir Singh, 76, property dealer Shiv Naresh, 47, and Lakshmi, 40, were found inside a car around 4 pm, after which passing motorists informed the police.
Although it was not immediately clear how they all knew each other, investigators drew up a timeline through CCTV footage and call detail records. At around 9.52 am Randhir met Shiv at his house. They reached Haiderpur at 10.40 am, picked up Lakshmi, crossed Khajuri Khas at 11.10 am and reached Loni residence of Kamaruddin at around 11.44 am. Ten minutes later, he was seen returning with two bags on CCTV.
The next time the car was seen was around 1 pm in Peeragadhi – about 30 km away – where at 1.13 pm Kamruddin was seen inside the car holding a packet in his hand, which investigators believe contained a packet of laddus. The car remained parked at Peeragarhi flyover for about 45 minutes.
Also read: The triple murder of Tantrik caught in Delhi was linked to similar crimes in UP, Rajasthan.
Forensic analysis revealed what investigators described as a lethal mixture of sulfas (aluminum phosphide) and sleeping pills in high concentrations. “Sulfases have a distinctive odor that can be masked if the person has consumed alcohol,” one investigator said, adding that this combination could cause rapid death. Liquor bottle recovered from the car.
Investigators said the victims had arrived a day earlier but were turned back because they did not bring “cool stuff” needed for the ceremony. An officer said, “He had insisted that Dhanvarsha should happen at a place of his choosing. We suspect that he decided to kill them because he had chosen the place and had less control. Had it been his place, he could have made an excuse for Dhanvarsha not happening.”
By 3 pm the victims’ car was found near Peeragarhi flyover. Everyone was dead. “They were promised ₹Rs 3 crore against ₹2 lakh. They were trying everything possible to earn money and died in the process,” said an officer who is closely investigating the case.
Kamruddin is currently in judicial custody In Tihar Jail.
History of similar deaths
This was not the first time that serious allegations were made against Kamruddin. HT saw the charge sheets and spoke to investigators and found that this was a pattern dating back at least a decade.
In February 2014, in Rajkheda, Rajasthan, he was accused of murdering a woman along with her husband, allegedly after infertility had provoked a man to murder his wife. He was arrested and spent 390 days in jail before being released on bail.
According to the charge sheet, 30-year-old Anita married school teacher Narayan Singh in 2004, but was unable to have children. In 2013, she and her husband visited Kamruddin in Firozabad. Anita went missing on 25 February; Two days later, his body was found about 300 meters away from his home.
Before marriage, Anita was in love with a man named Udayveer. In 2014, they reunited, leading to marital discord. Concurrently, both Anita and her husband regularly consulted Kamaruddin, believing that his secret practices would help them conceive.
According to the charge sheet, Anita had met Kamruddin on February 23 in the absence of her husband and spoke to him seven times on February 24. “On February 26, Kamruddin was in Rajkheda, but despite being in the area, he did not talk to Anita or Narayan Singh, which raises suspicion. The postmortem revealed that he was murdered on February 26, 24 hours before his body was found,” the document said.
Investigators believe that Narayan Singh, along with Kamruddin, conspired to kill Anita because of her alleged affair and infertility. His postmortem revealed death due to poison.
Kamaruddin was arrested on charges of murder and kidnapping. However, after 390 days in jail, he was released in 2015. A Rajasthan police officer said there was a lack of direct evidence in the case, “The court granted bail on the grounds that the evidence was circumstantial. They could not be directly linked to the murder. Anita’s husband was the main accused.”
Arrested for double murder in 2025
A decade later, in May 2025, Kamruddin was arrested again – this time in connection with two deaths allegedly linked to offerings mixed with poison during similar rituals.
According to the FIR of Makhanpur police station in Firozabad, complainant Ram Singh alleged that his brother Ramnath and relative Puran died due to poisoning by Kamaruddin. Singh alleged that Kamruddin had promised them to recover “hidden treasure” through Tantric practices, took money for the rituals and refused to return it.
On May 8, Kamruddin called both of them to his house on the pretext of a ritual. The next morning their bodies were found near a glass factory, with glasses, laddus, lemons and other religious items kept nearby.
Initially recorded as abetment of suicide, the case was converted to murder after forensic reports showed traces of “organophosphorus pesticide” in the victims’ bodies. Chaman Kumar Sharma, investigating officer of the case, said, “Investigation of laddu, glass, lemon and viscera report confirmed that Kamruddin had mixed poison in the laddu and bhabhuti (ash) given to him. Kamruddin has confessed this in his disclosure.”
Despite this, Qamaruddin got bail from Allahabad High Court on September 9, 2025. His lawyer successfully argued that the FIR was lodged four days after the bodies were discovered, that there was “no direct or indirect evidence” and that “organophosphorus pesticide cannot be administered forcefully as it has a pungent odour.” Importantly, the lawyer claimed that Kamruddin had no criminal history – a claim the police failed to challenge, as they had not investigated the 2014 Rajasthan case.
A Delhi Police officer said, “Kamaruddin’s willingness to kill for financial greed and his diminishing fear of the law is evident from the fact that he poisoned three people to death in Delhi despite getting bail just five months ago.” The murder case is currently on trial, with Kamaruddin reportedly failing to appear in court despite bail conditions.
racket
Raids on Qamaruddin’s premises in Loni and Firozabad revealed hundreds of photographs of women and men with addresses on the backs that investigators believe were used for “money laundering”. Victims reportedly paid amounts ranging from ₹from 1,800 ₹2.75 lakh for rituals claiming to locate hidden treasure, cure infertility or ensure wealth.
Speaking to HT, Neha Devi, 35, from Wazirpur, who visited Kamruddin twice in February 2025, said her husband’s colleague had referred her when he complained of a chronic illness. After explaining her problem, Kamruddin gave her eight laddus to eat at home – which her husband threw away. Upon meeting him a second time, Kamruddin performed what he called an “operation”, placing a white cloth over his stomach, chanting phrases and producing a blood-stained black cloth with knots, and claiming to have found the source of his illness. She remains unwell, she told HT.
Investigators said Kamaruddin relied heavily on word-of-mouth propaganda and fearmongering. An officer said, “People are scared and do not want to come forward to give statements against him. He would identify weaknesses – infertility, financial crisis, marital problems – and then prescribe escalating rituals.”
Police are also probing links to other cases related to Tantra-Mantra, including a 2023 case in Ghaziabad, where a headless body was found, the skull of which was allegedly meant for Tantra-Mantra. Although Kamaruddin’s role was investigated, he was never arrested.
“Over the years, he has been picked up by the police several times, but was always let off due to lack of evidence. The man has murdered many people. The provisions of the law have enabled him to stay out of jail,” the officer said.
