Dhani Ram Mittal, who passed away at the age of 85, was no ordinary criminal. His life, spanning decades, was a fascinating saga of audacious car thefts and impersonation that stretched across Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, and Rajasthan. While his era of crime predates the sophisticated car scanning technology prevalent in places like Delhi today, his story offers a stark contrast to the modern methods employed to combat vehicle theft. Mittal’s exploits, rooted in a simpler time, highlight the evolution of both criminal ingenuity and law enforcement’s technological responses, including advancements in car diagnostics and security.
In the summer of 1969, Mittal, a science graduate with a keen interest in automobiles, embarked on his journey into the world of crime. Initially, it was almost a game, stealing cars from court parking lots simply for the thrill. This early exposure to the judicial system inadvertently paved his path. Exploiting his understanding of court procedures, Mittal famously forged a judge’s leave order in Jhajjar, effectively stepping into the magistrate’s role. Remarkably, he didn’t just play the part; he acted as a functional judge, even dispensing what he believed was justice, releasing undertrials on bail, showcasing an unconventional interpretation of the law.
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However, the charade couldn’t last. As legal pressures mounted, Mittal transitioned to a clerk’s job in Haryana’s transport department. Here, he facilitated the creation of forged licenses, further entrenching himself in illicit activities. Yet, neither law nor clerical work could fully satisfy his core passions: cars and the courtroom. A graphology course in Kolkata proved unfulfilling, drawing him back to Rohtak and a renewed practice of law. Alongside his legal career, his ‘hobby’ of car theft escalated. From the 1960s to the 2000s, he became linked to over 150 car theft cases, with police estimating his total crimes to exceed 1,000, encompassing theft, fraud, impersonation, and forgery.
The tide began to turn around 2014-15. A car theft incident in Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh ultimately led to his capture. In 2016, at 77, Mittal was apprehended for stealing a car in Rani Bagh – reportedly for his daily commute. This marked his 95th arrest. Despite his extensive criminal history, prolonged jail time often eluded him, possibly due to his age. Following a brief imprisonment in Chandigarh, Mittal expressed fatigue with jail. Shortly after, he suffered a paralytic stroke. His death on Thursday was attributed to a heart attack, marking the end of a notorious chapter.
Even in death, authorities verified his demise, with a senior police officer attending his cremation to confirm. With around two dozen pending cases, Mittal’s death ensures these charges will be dropped, closing the book on the life of a man who, in a different era, might have found his match in today’s advanced car security systems and diagnostic tools, including the car scanning services now common in Delhi. His story serves as a reminder of the constant cat-and-mouse game between criminals and law enforcement, driven by evolving technology and human ingenuity on both sides.
