Satish Kumar (born c. 1973), better known simply as Satish, is a convicted Indian paedophobe and serial killer who was active in

Bahadurgarh Bahadurgarh is a city and municipal council within Jhajjar district in the Indian state of Haryana and Part of National Capital Region or NCR of Delhi. The city comprises 31 wards and is approximately 21 km from National Capital Territory ...

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

from 1995 to 1998. He admitted kidnapping and attempting to rape fourteen girls, murdering ten. Police confirmed Satish's involvement in twelve cases, including the ten murders. Since his victims were all five to nine years of age, he is also known as the Bahadurgarh baby killer. The police's inability to apprehend Satish led to protests and near-riots by local residents. Under pressure, police prosecuted three men in succession as the murders continued. Satish was finally arrested in 1998 when his final victim led police to him. He was convicted of twelve sexual assaults and ten murders, and is serving a life sentence.

Early life

Satish came to Bahadurgarh from

Ghaziabad Ghaziabad () is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and a part of Delhi NCR. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghaziabad district and is the largest city in Western Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 1,729,000. Ghaziaba ...

with his parents. He lived at the home of his father, Brij Pal, in Bahadurgarh's Netaji Nagar section. When Satish was arrested in 1998, he was 25 years old.

Victims

Police confirmed that Satish was involved in kidnapping and raping (or attempting to rape) twelve young girls, ten of whom he killed: After he was arrested, Satish admitted raping (or attempting to rape) 14 girls and killing 10 of them. He did not know the names of his victims. His confession is summarised below: # Kidnapped a girl between Ghevra turning and Nizampur village. Left her in the wheat field near the Bamnouli road. # Kidnapped a girl about 8–9 years old from a wedding reception at Gali No. 4, Netaji Nagar, at about 9:10 pm on a winter night. Took her to a mustard field, tried to rape her and strangled her. # Kidnapped a girl about 8–9 years old from Parnala. Took her to Bidoras, tried to rape her and strangled her. # Kidnapped a sleeping girl near the Bahadurgarh bus stand. Took her to Parnala, tried to rape her and murdered her. # Kidnapped a girl from a

Ramlila Ramlila or Ramleela (; literally 'Rama's lila or play') is any dramatic folk re-enactment of the life of Rama according to the ancient Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' or secondary literature based on it such as the '' Ramcharitmanas''. It particular ...

event on Nahra Nahri Road. Took her to Kothra in Parnala and tried to rape her. # Kidnapped a girl from Nehru Park. Tried to rape her in a field in Dencha, between Parnala and Nizampur. Uncertain if she died. # Kidnapped a girl near a temple beside a road leading to Nehru Park. Took her to Kothra in Parnala village and tried to rape and murder her. Later he learned that she lived. # Kidnapped a girl from a school near a '' sabzi mandi'' on a summer day. Brought her towards Parnala, tried to rape her in a vacant lot and strangled her. # Kidnapped a girl about 7 years old from Shankar Garden. Took her to a park, tried to rape her and strangled her. # Kidnapped a 7–8-year-old girl near a pencil factory. Tried to rape her beside a ''

nala Nala () is a legendary king of ancient Nishadha kingdom and the central protagonist of the '' Nalopakhyana'', a sub-narrative within the Indian epic '' Mahabharata'', found in its third book, '' Vana Parva'' (Book of the Forest). He is renown ...

'' near a bridge, and strangled her. # Kidnapped a girl from Bamnouli and brought her towards Chour Paiu. Tried to rape her near a pipal tree, murdered her and left her body. # Kidnapped a girl from her house in Shankar Garden. Brought her to a ''nala'', tried to rape her and murdered her. # Kidnapped a girl from the M.I.E. Area at night. Took her to a vacant lot, tried to rape her and strangled her. Contrite, he approached her house and tried to awaken a woman. # Kidnapped a girl near a chappal factory around midday, brought her to his house and kept her there overnight. Tried to rape her twice. His young brother and sister were home, and Satish told them that the girl was the daughter of a contractor. The next morning he brought the girl to a vacant factory, tried to strangle her and ran away (this was Somani, who survived and led the police to him).

Initial suspects

Raj Kumar

Satish's first victim was Pooja, who was killed in February 1995. Since her father was employed by the

Union Home Ministry The Ministry of Home Affairs (IAST: ''Gṛha Mantrālaya''), or simply the Home Ministry, is a ministry of the Government of India. It is mainly responsible for the maintenance of internal security and domestic policy. It is headed by the m ...

, the police were under pressure to apprehend the culprit quickly. They arrested Raj Kumar (also known as Raja), saying that he had confessed to the crime. Raja was cleared after being imprisoned for 18 months. in July 1995, while Raja was still in police custody, Satish raped and killed a seven-year-old girl. After Satish's third crime in September 1995, the police began looking for a serial killer. When the fourth girl was murdered in October 1995, angry local residents organized

dharna A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to ...

s. Authorities transferred the local police superintendent and intensified patrolling in the area. The police asked parents to keep an eye on their children (especially young girls) and report any suspicious persons, but there was no progress in the investigation.

Ram Babu

In January 1996, Satish kidnapped and raped two girls in five days. Local residents intensified their protests, organizing

bandh Bandh () is a form of protest used by political activists in South Asian countries such as India and Nepal. It is similar to a general strike. During a bandh, a political party or a community declare a general strike. For example, a ''Bharat (t ...

s, so the deputy inspector general of police (DGP) and the district

superintendent of police Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territori ...

(SP) remained in Bahadurgarh to supervise the investigation. Police explored the possibility that the killer lived in neighbouring

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, and involved the

Delhi Police The Delhi Police (DP) is the law enforcement agency for the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Delhi Police falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. In 2024, the sanctioned strength of Delhi Police w ...

in the investigation. The Delhi Police arrested the possibly- intellectually-disabled Ram Babu, claiming the 50,000 reward announced by the Haryana police for the arrest of the "Bahadurgarh baby killer". Babu, of

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

, was arrested at a roadside restaurant on the Delhi-Rohtak road near Nangloi. The murders continued, indicating that Babu was not the killer. On 16 August 1998, three months before Satish was caught and after spending thirty months in prison, 32-year-old Ram Babu was killed in prison. Om Prakash, another prisoner in the mental ward, hit him on the head with a brick and killed him. The senior superintendent of police (SSP) who interviewed Ram Babu later said:

Shankar Kumar

On 22 June 1997, Satish killed seven-year-old Manju. On 10 July the police arrested Shankar Kumar of

Begusarai Begusarai is the industrial and financial capital of Bihar and the administrative headquarters of the Begusarai district, which is one of the 38 districts of the Indian state of Bihar. The district lies on the northern bank of the river Gan ...

in Bihar, alleging that he had attempted to abduct Aarti (a young girl from Subhash Nagar in Bahadurgarh). According to Senior Superintendent of Police A. S. Chawla, Shankar admitted kidnapping and murdering Manju. The arrest was again found premature when Satish raped and murdered nine-year-old Kinty, whose nude body was found on 8 October. Her discovery led to a violent public protest in Bahadurgarh the following day. In near-riot conditions, police opened fire on the crowd and two youths were killed. Nearby units of the

Central Reserve Police Force The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The CRPF assists states and Union Territories in maintaining law and order and internal security. It is composed of the Cent ...

were called in to assist local police, and the case was transferred to the CID. Because of the massive police presence in the city, Satish did not strike again for the next eleven months.

Arrest

After nearly a year of inactivity, in September 1998 Satish kidnapped a nine-year-old girl from her family's compound at night. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Suman Manjari organized a citizens' anti-crime committee to increase awareness and mobilize support for police efforts. She met with the local

chamber of commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

, who posted a 10,000 reward for helping police catch the killer. On 18 November, Satish kidnapped six-year-old Somani when she was returning from her father's

tea stall Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and northe ...

. Manjari supervised the search and the investigation, but could not make any headway. Satish raped Somani twice in his home; when she lost consciousness, he assumed she was dead and threw her into a field near his house. Two days later, Umid Singh saw Somani weeping in a dry

flood control channel Flood control channels are large and empty basins where surface water can flow through but is not retained (except during flooding), or dry channels that run below the street levels of some larger cities, so that if a flash flood occurs the excess ...

near a bridge. He asked the girl her name and address, but she would only tell him her name. Singh brought her to the Modern Industrial Area police station. The local police, realizing that she was a probable victim of the "baby killer", informed Manjari. Somani told her that she had been kidnapped by a dark-skinned bicyclist with a thin beard, and led police to the house across the train tracks where she was kept overnight. Satish's brother told police that he was at work at a tin factory, where he was arrested. After the arrest, the Haryana Police asked the Delhi Police to return the reward they had claimed. The Delhi Police returned the money, which was given to Somani.

Conviction

According to the police, Satish appeared to be a "mentally deranged sex pervert". From 10 to 23 December 1998, he was observed by Dr. Rajiv Gupta at the Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in

Rohtak Rohtak () is a city and the administrative headquarters of the Rohtak district in the Indian state of Haryana. It lies north-west of New Delhi and south of the state capital Chandigarh on NH 9 (old NH 10). Rohtak forms a part of the Nationa ...

. Gupta concluded that Satish was not

psychotic In psychopathology, psychosis is a condition in which a person is unable to distinguish, in their experience of life, between what is and is not real. Examples of psychotic symptoms are delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized or incoher ...

, but had a " neurotic type of personality". Satish admitted committing 14 crimes, and on 22 December a magistrate determined that his confession was voluntary. Although Satish later recanted his confession, he was convicted on the basis of evidence; the details he provided of the kidnappings, rapes and murders were corroborated by other evidence. In the Aarti murder case (victim number 11), he was questioned with lie-detection expert Dr. Bibha Rani on 1 December 1998 and his description of the crime matched the existing evidence. Satish was sentenced to life imprisonment; the court did not find his crime the "rarest of the rare", which would have given him a

death sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

. In 2008, the

Punjab and Haryana High Court Punjab and Haryana High Court is the common High Court for the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh based in Chandigarh, India. Sanctioned strength of Judges of this High Court is 85 consisting of 64 Pe ...

rejected the

government of Haryana Government of Haryana, also known as the State Government of Haryana, or locally as the Haryana Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Haryana and its 22 districts. It consists of an executive, ceremonially led ...

's request for a death sentence.

References

External links

Satish vs The State Of Haryana on 21 January 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Satish (criminal) 1973 births 20th-century Indian criminals 21st-century Indian criminals Crime in Haryana Indian murderers of children Indian people convicted of child sexual abuse Indian people convicted of murder Indian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Indian rapists Indian serial killers Living people People convicted of murder by India People from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh People from Jhajjar district Place of birth missing (living people) Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by India Indian people convicted of rape Criminals from Uttar Pradesh Criminals from Haryana