Private eyes: What goes on inside the world of Delhi’s detectives

Having seen many of their contemporaries go to jail for “illegal” assignments, private detectives say there are lines they simply do not cross. However, the absence of a law for private detectives means that not everyone has misgivings. On July 18, a private eye was arrested for trying to sell illegally procured call detail records (CDRs) to a policeman from Delhi Police’s Crime Branch. In 2013, three private detectives and a Delhi Police constable were arrested for trying to tap the phone of Arun Jaitley, then Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha.

There have been attempts to regularise the industry. In 2007, the Private Detective Agency Regulation Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha to set licensing requirements and qualifications for private investigators. “It capped foreign agents’ ownership in a company to 49%, among others. The Bill was with the Standing Committee for years before it was withdrawn a few years ago. We have asked the government to consider reintroducing it with changes. Until then, we will keep working in this legally grey area,” says Kunwar Vikram Singh, chairperson, Association of Professional Detectives and Investigators (APDI).

Thanks to such grey areas, detective Puri says there are plenty of freelancers today who will give a client any information they want — even their cheating spouse’s WhatsApp chats — for around Rs 50,000. “If a person promises you illegal information, they are either a crook or are scamming you,” he warns.

Lack of regulation also means that there is no record of exactly how many private detective agencies operate in the Capital. “Barely 15-20 agencies are registered as businesses under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. There must be around 30-40 unregistered ones,” says Sanjeev Kumar, who has been running DDS Detective Agency since 2013.

Most agencies, he says, specialise in just one type of investigation. “Some just do employee checks, others only insurance fraud investigations and intelligence gathering for law firms. Then, there are the freelancers. I personally know 70-80 freelancers I can hire if I need more manpower for a case. There must be around 700-800 freelancers in Delhi alone,” he says.

Knowing when to say no

Puri’s agency, AMX Detectives, is tucked away in a corner at Bhikaji Cama Place. “People only come to me when they need help desperately,” says Puri.

Introduced to sleuthing by his father in the 1980s, Puri says the industry was not as lucrative back then. But it boomed in the 2000s and more inquiries started reaching Puri’s office. And, before he knew it, he was mostly dealing with cases related to family matters. With personal cases, came heightened emotions — forcing Puri to learn to say no.

“Some things I refuse to do point-blank, like extracting CDRs, emails, chat logs or CCTV footage. Following someone’s son-in-law or daughter-in-law or snooping on a business rival makes me queasy. I tell such clients, ‘Boss, there are some things you are simply not entitled to’. No amount of money or favours are worth the risk,” says Puri.

Sometimes, Puri says, parents ask him to tail children who refused to get married. “A girl’s parents wanted to find out if she was gay,” he says.

Some parents also approach detectives to track down estranged children. One such case came to Sanjeev Deswal, who has been running Aider Detectives since 1989.

Hidden in a building in Katwaria Sarai, the waiting room of Deswal’s office is full of screengrabs of his numerous TV appearances besides a caricature of a stereotypical detective in a trenchcoat and an upturned fedora, holding up a magnifying glass. Deswal declares that his expertise lies in tracking down people who don’t want to be found.

“I tracked down a woman who ran away with a man 12 years ago. I found the man — he lives far from Delhi and works at a car dealership. So I befriended him,” Deswal chuckles.

How did he befriend a complete stranger? “Money is an excellent motivator. I showed interest in one of the most expensive cars in the showroom and then took him out for a drink,” he says.

“After a few meetings, I asked him about good properties to invest in. He told me about this house he owns — not the one where he lives with his wife and children.”

Sensing that he would find the woman there, Deswal immediately sent his investigators to narrow down her location to one house. Then, he approached her, pretending to be a surveyor. “I told her that I sensed a troubled energy from her since I dabbled in palmistry,” he says.

About 80% of the cases that Rohit Malik, who runs Spy Detective Agency out of a nondescript building in Adchini, gets are related to extra-marital affairs.

“A man once hired us to follow his wife’s boyfriend. We followed the boyfriend for three days and gave the husband exactly what he wanted — proof of the boyfriend’s other affairs. He wanted to show his wife that her boyfriend wasn’t faithful — and to ask her to come back to him,” says Malik.

At times, parents hire detectives to keep tabs on their children’s lives. Sanjeev Kumar, a former Delhi Police inspector-turned-detective, says, “Around 10 years ago, a teenager’s parents came to me. The neighbours had told them that she was involved with older men. They didn’t believe them, but still wanted confirmation.”

These detectives also deal with high-profile clients. “At times, they think their house or office has been bugged (with listening devices or spy cameras) but they don’t want to go to the police,” says Malik.

Political parties too avail their services. “It’s mostly before the elections to check if a rival is violating the MCC (model code of conduct). Once a party came to me with a list of 10 people before the last municipal polls. It wanted me to check the candidates’ reputation among voters before the final list was made,” Detective Kumar says.

For most investigators, the most difficult cases are those related to tracking down units manufacturing dupes. “Such factories are either in relatively deserted areas like outer north Delhi or in extremely congested localities like Seemapuri. These units are always on high alert and have lookouts in case of any suspicious movement. It is very difficult to investigate them without tipping them off,” says Rajinder Kumar, a field investigator for the last 20 years.

Even other investigations have become difficult over the past decade, he says. “Earlier, people would step out of their houses. They have stopped doing that, especially since the lockdown. Most do not even talk to their neighbours and it is only by talking to people in a target’s network that we get pieces of information. Then, we get an Internet investigator to give us more information. We put hundreds of pieces together to make one big picture,” says Kumar.

No matter how the business has changed over the years, the basic ingredients of a perfect investigator remain the same: men aged between 28 and 32 years who look plain, don’t wear flashy clothes or have tattoos. “A perfect investigator will not catch the police’s attention and will blend seamlessly into a crowd. And yet, the investigator going to GK (Greater Kailash, a posh locality) will look different from the one sent to Sangam Vihar,” says Kumar.

It’s far more difficult for women to become investigators, he says. “A woman stationed on a stakeout attracts attention. If she roams around one spot for about eight hours, people remember her more easily than a male investigator.”

However, detectives hire women to operate in a limited capacity. “We have them pose as salespersons or telemarketers to confirm information. People share extra information with a friendly voice,” says Malik.

Finding good detectives is tough, says Deswal. “A good detective has confidence, intelligence, patience, exemplary analysis skills and the ability to think on their feet. Many who join this field in search of thrills lose their composure as soon a cop asks them why they have been loitering in the same spot for hours,” he says.

With freelancers available for gruelling field work, most agencies don’t hire more than seven-eight employees. Kumar says they usually need full-time hands to do “computer work” — finding dirt on people via social media.

A new investigator makes around Rs 25,000 per month, excluding case expenses. While investigators with decades of experience earn around Rs 2 lakh a month, those specialising in specific types of investigations make nearly Rs 80,000 per month.

The mental toll

Nevertheless, dealing with sensitive cases takes a toll. “I have seen decades-old friendships break in seconds because of greed and money,” says Kumar.

Deswal recalls an intellectual property (IP) theft case. “A warehouse was making dupes of branded wall paints but the labourers were unaware that they were getting paid Rs 100 a day for doing illegal work. Still, they were arrested for IP theft. That was my last IP case,” he says.

Kumar finds it especially difficult to investigate cases of non-consummation of a marriage due to one partner’s sexual orientation. “I have sympathy for both parties — I understand how difficult it must be to come out of the closet, but I also feel bad for the spouse in the dark,” he says.