Indian Predator The Diary of a Serial Killer is the latest true-crime documentary series released on Netflix. It follows the chilling case of when a suspect is found in a journalist’s murder, the case is considered closed until a secret diary suggests 13 more victims — and possible cannibalism.
It is an India Today Originals Production, directed by Dheeraj Jindal, and the script is written by Sudeep Nigam with creative producer Moumita Sen and executive producer Chandni Ahlawat Dabas. There are 3 episodes in total with a runtime of about 37-45 minutes.
Who is Raja Kolander? How Did He Get Caught?
Raja Kolander’s official name is Ram Niranjan and he was a grade 4 employee at COD Chheoki and also owned a pig farm. His wife Phoolan Devi was a member of the local panchayat and her birth name was Gomati Devi. He has three children Adalat, Zamanat and daughter Andolan (some peculiar names, or a projection of his mental well-being).
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Call details of the slain reporter’s mobile phone led police to Phoolan Devi, as it was the last dialled number on the list. According to the police officer, they were already wary of Raja (even before this case, they believed he did some illegal things on the side since he owned big cars in a small village) and when his wife’s name came up, they suspected that there could be something.
When Police and Dheerendra’s brother went to ask questions to Phoolan Devi, they saw Raja and his brother-in-law Vakshraj Kol driving the Tata Sumo. The police started questioning him and the duo’s behaviour made them suspicious and they were taken to the station for more questioning.
It is said that Kolander and Vakshraj confessed to the killing, and Dheerandra’s phone was found in their car while the bike was at the pig farm. They had called the journalist at their pig farm and then Vakshraj had shot dead Singh from behind. They took his body in their car to a place where they took off his clothes before severing his head & genitals and left the body there.
They then dumped the severed parts at a pond in the Rewa district of neighbouring Madhya Pradesh and his clothes, 7-8 km away. The reason they give is that Dheerendra had become aware of Raja’s criminal activities, including murdering the Tata Sumo drivers and stealing the cars and had threatened to expose him.
During the investigation, police exhumed human skeletons from the pig farm and claimed that it indicated Kolander had killed more people and dumped their bodies after performing some sort of cannibalism. It is claimed that he used to boil his victims’ brains and drink them, to increase his intellect.
However, the claim was denied by Kolander’s family members. The court observed that while it was proved beyond doubt that Kolander and his brother-in-law had murdered Dheerendra Singh, the prosecution had failed to establish their involvement in any other killing as well as the charges of cannibalism.
As a result, the court sentenced the duo to life imprisonment. In the documentary, it said that even Phoolan Devi was in prison and it could be in regard to the Tata Sumo double murder case, where Kolander and Vakshraj killed the two drivers and took the car. While Phoolan Devi witnessed it all, making her an accomplice.
Currently, they all are in prison and the case is still going on. Even though Kolander was arrested in 2001, it took more than a decade for him to be charged with the murder of Dheerendra Singh and the two drivers. However, they haven’t been proven guilty of other murders, whose skulls were found on the farm.
Indian Predator The Diary of a Serial Killer is streaming on Netflix.
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