In December 2000, journalist Dhirendra Singh went missing in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Police investigations led to the arrest of Ram Niranjan, alias Raja Kulendar, an Ordnance Factory employee who ran a reign of terror from his Pipri farmhouse. Ram Niranjan and his brother-in-law, Vaxraj, lured Dhirendra Singh to the farmhouse, shot him dead, dismembered his body, buried his torso in a field on the Madhya Pradesh border, and threw his severed head into a pond in Rewa. A search of Ram Niranjan's farmhouse led to the discovery of 14 human skulls, personal effects of other victims, and a detailed diary accounting for 14 murders. Ram Niranjan confessed to cannibalistic acts, including boiling and consuming victim brains under the delusion that it granted him intellect and power. The investigation also solved the January 2000 double murder of businessman Manoj Singh and driver Ravi Srivastava, whose stolen Tata Sumo vehicle and tailored coat were found at the farmhouse. Ram Niranjan and Vaxraj received life sentences in 2012 for Dhirendra Singh's murder, and a second life sentence in May 2025 for the double murder of Manoj Singh and Ravi Srivastava.
Country: India
State/Province: Uttar Pradesh, India
City/Region: Prayagraj
Incident Type: Murder
Relationship Status: None
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Incident Date: Dec. 14, 2000
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How the relationship or connection began.
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2000-12-14
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English labels are shown first. Original-language titles are preserved for source verification.
Unknown
This case involves a serial killer, robbery spree, and cannibalism rather than a primary romantic or domestic relationship conflict. Ram Niranjan (alias Raja Kulendar) targeted co-workers, acquaintances, journalists, and travelers for financial gain, revenge, and delusional cannibalistic beliefs. The dynamic centered on premeditated luring, extreme violence, dismemberment, and co-offending with his brother-in-law Vaxraj.
Note: The case does not appear to be primarily relationship-driven; it is a serial homicide, robbery, and cannibalism case. Police arrested Ram Niranjan while investigating the disappearance of journalist Dhirendra Singh in December 2000. Searches at his Pipri farmhouse led to the discovery of 14 human skulls, victim belongings, and a diary recording 14 murders. Ram Niranjan and his brother-in-law Vaxraj were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2012 for Dhirendra Singh's murder, and received a second life sentence in May 2025 for the January 2000 double murder of Manoj Singh and Ravi Srivastava.
Initially, the missing person cases of journalist Dhirendra Singh and businessman Manoj Singh were treated as unrelated disappearances. Linkage occurred only after Ram Niranjan was arrested for Dhirendra Singh's murder, when physical searches at his farmhouse uncovered 14 skulls, a coat bearing a Rae Bareli tailor's tag belonging to Manoj Singh, and Manoj's stolen Tata Sumo.
Investigating the disappearance of journalist Dhirendra Singh brought police to Ram Niranjan, who had been named in a prior complaint. Upon arresting Ram Niranjan and searching his Pipri farmhouse, officers found a written diary detailing 14 homicides alongside 14 human skulls. Physical evidence, including stolen property and vehicle registration, connected Ram Niranjan and Vaxraj to multiple cold-case disappearances across district borders.
The offender presented extreme danger, serial homicide behavior, body dismemberment, cannibalism, and trophy collection (keeping 14 human skulls and a murder diary). His continuous denial of guilt and lack of remorse underscore severe risk to society, requiring lifelong confinement.
Violent serial offenders can conceal extreme acts behind ordinary employment and domestic lives. Rigorous physical searches of suspect properties during missing-person investigations can uncover unlinked serial crimes, where handwritten journals and retained trophies provide crucial evidence for multi-case prosecutions.
Early signals included a formal police complaint filed against Ram Niranjan by journalist Dhirendra Singh's brother, along with abrupt disappearances of individuals who had recent contact with or traveled near Ram Niranjan.
Key clues included a Rae Bareli tailor's tag on a coat found in the farmhouse, the recovery of a stolen Tata Sumo carrying the name 'Phoolan Devi', and an explicit handwritten murder diary detailing 14 killings.
Strongest evidence included 14 human skulls recovered from the Pipri farmhouse, the offender's handwritten murder diary, stolen personal property (Manoj Singh's coat), and the recovered stolen Tata Sumo vehicle.
In an interview, Ram Niranjan's grandson stated he had met his grandfather, found his behavior pleasant, and could not believe the allegations. In contrast, a victim's relative stated that life imprisonment was insufficient and called for the death penalty due to the immense destruction caused to multiple families.
Follow-up investigations transformed a single missing journalist inquiry into a serial homicide prosecution, uncovering 14 homicides, recovering human remains, and securing dual life sentences in 2012 and May 2025.
While Ram Niranjan confessed to 14 homicides and diary entries were recovered, full forensic identification details for all 14 individual skull remains were not fully detailed in the report.