Dhani Ram Mittal was 85 when he breathed his last on Thursday. He was a man with a long career in crime, best known for posing as a judge at a local court and ordering the release of multiple people from his tribe. He was "active" even in his seventies and was a whisker away from a century of police arrests.
The notorious Dhani Ram Mittal is making news even as he is laid to rest at the national. Here are a few instances from his long and astonishingly eventful face-off with law and order over the decades.
The numbers: Unbelievable! There is no other word one can use to sum up Mittal's life. There are over 150 theft cases against him while he was put behind bars for over 90 times. According to police records, he was directly involved in over a thousand offences which include cheating, forgery and impersonation along with theft.
Pan-India robber: Dhani Ram Mittal was a cause of headache to the law and order system across several states. He reportedly used forged documents to procure a job as a station master. He reportedly earned a steady income from the work between 1968 and 1974.
My Lord! The most notorious chapter of Mittal's life, beyond question, was recorded in Jhajjar of Haryana. He managed to free multiple criminals by posing as a judge. "When we were reading his criminal profile, we got to know that he managed to pose as a judge for a few days in Jhajjar and passed orders to release criminals serving long sentences," PTI quoted a police source as saying.
NOT illiterate: But how can a petty thief possibly deceive policemen, lawyers and even court staff to pull off such an improbable task? The secret of his success was that he was a double-degree holder! Dhani Ram Mittal passed a Bachelor in Science (BSc) from Haryana's Rohtak in first class before becoming a LLB holder from Rajasthan.
Mittal used to work as a munshi (clerk) for different advocates as well, which gave him exposure to court ambience and proceedings.
Using education to his advantage: However, instead of choosing the lawyer's black coat, he opted for the black bandana mask of a robber. According to reports, Mittal used to steal cars for fun while assisting advocates. The fearless robber often stole cars from right under the nose of the judicial system. He targeted vehicles that were parked at the Jhajjar court premises, news agency PTI said.
The first and the last: There is a first for everything. As far as records go, Dhani Ram Mittal's first known offence was a case of cheating in 1964. Once he tasted the blood, there was no turning back.
The last time Mittal was arrested was in 2016, at the age of 77. The 95th arrest of his life was for stealing a car from Delhi's Rani Bagh.
The passing: Dhani Ram Mittal was not keeping well for some time and passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest. He was cremated by his son at Delhi's Nigambodh Ghat.
