From car thief to fake judge: The story of 'master thief' Dhani Ram Mittal, who committed over 1,000 crimes in his life

It was the summer of 1969. Dhani Ram Mittal, a young and restless science graduate with a passion for cars was killing time.

In his long life of crime, Mittal started by stealing vehicles from court parking lots after his shift just for fun. This exposure to the court gave Mittal led him to the idea of the judiciary and eventually became a 'judge.' Mittal forged a 'forced leave order' of a judge in a court at Jhajjar and replaced him as the magistrate there.

Instead of just faking the position, Mittal became a dedicated judge - sent a few to jail, released most of the undertrials on bail. His law degree helped him become a 'learned' judge who appeared clear that jail was an exception and bail was the norm in the criminal justice system.


But, the times were changing and Mittal realised that he would not go far in his life with this trick. So, even as the law started catching up, Mittal switched professions and became a clerk in Haryana's transport department, where he helped people get forged licences.

But, the life he was leading did not include what he loved the most, cars and judiciary.

Mittal then went to Kolkata to pursue a course in graphology. But nothing excited Mittal as cars and courts. He returned to Rohtak and started practising law again. In his free time, he pursued his other passion - cars. From the 1960s to the 2000s, Mittal was directly named in over 150 cases of car theft in Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab and Rajasthan. Cops estimate that he committed over 1,000 crimes, among them car thefts, cheating, impersonation and forgery in his lifetime.

His crime files started declining after 2014-15. A car theft in west Delhi's Punjabi Bagh was what did him in. In 2016, aged 77, he was arrested for stealing a car in Rani Bagh for his daily commute. This was his 95th arrest.

Mittal's past haunted him in jails. But it was old age that worked in his favour. Every time he was put behind bars, he didn't have to stay long. Last year, a Chandigarh case had him briefly incarcerated. After his release, Mittal, around 85 years old now, told his investigating officer that he had finally tired of jail stays. Within weeks, he suffered a paralytic stroke.

On Thursday, Mittal called it quits and passed away peacefully after what doctors said was a heart attack. "He had many health issues. He had been ill for a year," said his son on Saturday after Mittal's last rites were performed at Nigambodh Ghat.

The cops had to be sure. An ACP-ranked officer, who had investigated Mittal's past, witnessed the cremation in person. On Saturday, he confirmed the death to TOI. "As soon as I learnt about his passing, I alerted the area SHO and also went to the crematorium," the officer said. There are around two dozen cases still pending against Mittal. Death ensures the charges will finally be dropped.

(with ToI inputs)