Police in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, dismantled a bizarre legal evasion scheme on Sunday, October 25, when they arrested Rajkumar Rajbhar near his home in the Khwajajahanpur locality. The 38-year-old, who had been declared dead by court documents for nearly 18 months, was pulled from his hiding place by the Kotwali Nagar police, assisted by the Special Operations Group and surveillance teams. He had been living openly, the authorities claim, while his legal status remained that of a deceased citizen.
The ruse began in May 2025, when Rajbhar sought to escape the gunpoint murder trial of Yogesh Singh, a killing that occurred near the Munshipura railway line on December 19, 2016. To execute the plan, Rajbhar allegedly arranged for a goat to be cremated in place of a human body. He then utilized artificial intelligence to superimpose his own face onto images of the funeral procession and the last rites, creating a convincing visual record of his demise. These fabricated documents were submitted to the court, leading the Mau Municipal Council to issue a death certificate that effectively erased him from the legal system.
Additional Superintendent of Police Anoop Kumar stated that Rajbhar, a failed Class 12 graduate who traded in the stock market, had a dual motive beyond the murder trial. Police allege he had collected significant sums of money from investors across several cities, promising high returns on market investments. By faking his death, Rajbhar intended to absolve himself of the obligation to return these funds, a move that has now triggered a separate forgery case against him. The victim’s nephew, Avinash Singh, had filed the original murder complaint in 2016, naming Rajbhar and his friend Sudarshan Rajbhar as the accused.
With Rajbhar back in custody, the legal machinery is expected to resume full speed. The murder trial, which had been paused due to the defendant's purported death, will now proceed with the accused physically present. Prosecutors will likely seek to add the forgery charges to the existing docket, ensuring that his attempt to outsmart the judiciary becomes part of the permanent record of his criminal history.