'Moon Gazers' cracked down by country's finest investigators- IPS officer Neeraj Kumar will keep viewers sitting on the edge in Delhi Crime Season 2
New Delhi, August 24
Season 1 of the Netflix series Delhi Crime had left the viewers sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for the next move in the story. A truly engaging true crime series, its Season 2 is now releasing on August 26. It is based on the serial house-robberies with killings that rocked Delhi in 1990-’91 leading to a massive media uproar and public outcry. Based on a chapter from the popular book ‘Khaki Files’ written by Delhi’s former Police Chief and retired IPS officer, Neeraj Kumar, Season 2 promises to be even more engaging and breath-taking.
The upcoming season of Delhi Crime releasing on August 26 is based on chapter 7 of Khakhi Files and is titled ‘Moon Gazers’. The first season was based on the Nirbhaya Gangrape case when Neeraj Kumar was the CP of Delhi and the case was probed by then DCP South, Chhaya Sharma (now Jt CP, Delhi EOW). The Nirbhaya case is also narrated as one of the chapters titled, 'Night of Shame'.
Neeraj Kumar is one of the most revered Police Commissioners of Delhi and known for his absolute knack for investigations in terror and organized crime cases. As a young DCP of South District in Delhi, Neeraj Kumar had cracked this case by not only investigating it but getting to the root of the crime.
The best man to talk about the series and the book is Neeraj Kumar himself. In an exclusive interview with BW PoliceWorld magazine, Neeraj Kumar talks about his books- Khakhi files, Dial D for Don and his notable investigations.
1) Tell us about the book Khakhi Files that highlights the key cases you investigated.
Khakhi Files is a compilation of nine key cases investigated by Delhi Police when I was posted in the force in various capacities. The book has chapters on some key cases I investigated and supervised that were challenging as well as brought warmth to my heart. The book has chapters on Nirbhaya case (titled Night of Shame), Dark night murder and robberies in Delhi (titled Moon Gazers), the Parliament attack (Sovereignty under Seige), the cyber-attack (The Lakhvi Code), lottery scam (A matter of chance) and some other cases while it also has some highlights from my tenure as DGP Goa in Goan Rhapsody and Devil’s Advocate are more like nuggets for readers.
2) The web series Delhi Crime Season 2 is based on Moon Gazers. Please tell us who were those Moon Gazers?
The Moon Gazers is the seventh chapter in the book that talks about a rare occurrence of crime in Delhi back in 1990s when the people were first killed and then robbed in their homes. The serial killings took the city by storm. I was DCP South then when we started witnessing absolute gruesome murders.
To begin with the attackers left no evidences and didn’t even match with the records of the historysheeters. They first killed people and then robbed. We knew it was an organized gang but who we didn’t know. After probing deeper, we learnt it was the Pardi gang of Madhya Pradesh.
The Pardis were the denotified tribes from the Britisher’s era mostly found near Guna district of MP. We started working on the ‘suspicion’ that it was them. On one night police teams spotted few men and they chased them. After a while, they grouped together and started pelting stones at police. A day later similar incident happened in North East district. We then got sure it was the Pardis. I sent one police official to Guna to study their patterns and learn everything about them.
The policemen camped there for several weeks. We then learnt that they struck on New Moon Day (Amavasya in Hindi). The gang used to come out on the dark nights and attack people with ‘Daulatiya’- a weapon named after killing and looting people of their money.
3) How did Delhi Police crackdown on the 'Daulatiya' using Moon Gazers?
The way they waited for the weaning phase of Moon, my team and I used to keep watch on the moon. We also used to wait for the dark night knowing that the Pardis will strike on that night. We used to be out on the field keeping a vigil. We got leads on their next possible strikes and began arresting them. They used an iron weapon with which they first broke open the locks of the house and then used the same weapon to first kill and then loot.
Interestingly, they called it Daulatiya as they earned Daulat (money) by robbing homes in Delhi. The crackdown on this gang brought control on the serial killings.
4)Your first book Dial D for Don is one of the few authentic books written on the underworld and on Don Dawood Ibrahim. Tell us what inspired you to write on the underworld?
The publishers wanted me to write memoirs as former top cop of Delhi but I wanted to write about some important cases that can help readers understand crime and police better. I was serving in the Central Bureau of Investigation that probed the underworld related cases and while probing the 1993 Mumbai blast case got insights on the functioning of the underworld. The gang of Dawood so well-oiled then in Mumbai that even the Bombay Police (Mumbai Police) didn’t know the veracity of it. When the CBI began arresting the aides, some were those who grew up with him, some belonged to his close coterie so while talking to them we could get into the mind of Dawood Ibrahim. Dawood had his own set of dos and don’ts and the book contain some such factual details not found in any other book written on Dawood and his underworld. The book talks about the role of the underworld from organized crime to match fixing and terrorism.
5) Speaking of organized crime and the underworld, do you think the emergence of the gangs and gangsters is what disturbs the law and order most in India?
Dawood Ibrahim is over in one way. All his aides are either killed in encounters or arrested. There are Red Corner Notices against him and he has been declared as among the most wanted criminals and terrorists in the world, even by the United Nations. Having said that, saying he is not engaged in the world of crime now or working like and underdog is nothing but foolhardy. When we almost thought he is gone for good, the 2013 spot fixing case proved many police forces wrong. I was the Commissioner of Police in Delhi when the Special Cell investigated the spot fixing case and the role of the underworld was clearer than before.
Speaking about the gangs operating today which are running the organized crime network, I would say that when one gang is neutralized or brought down under control, another one emerges. The gangs of Neeraj Bawana or Lawrence Bishnoi and others are all results of illicit demands. For instance, Punjab has high presence of arms and drugs so the gangs operating from the state or in and around the state have developed a network to mushroom the illicit demands of drugs, arms, land, etc. The police have to be always ready to accept that if one gang goes, another one will appear that needs to be cracked down.
6) Delhi remembers you not only as the former Police Commissioner but also one of the few IPS officers to bring powerful reforms in Tihar Jail. Tell us about those path breaking initiatives.
As Director General Prisons in Tihar Jail, I thought of lot of transformational steps. The prisons needed transformation and the prisoners needed help. One such step was ‘Padho aur Padhao’ that was tremendously successful where prisoners got opportunity to teach and learn. We introduced electronic money for them to buy things in jail and introduced cash cards. They used to be given coupons that eight got robbed or extorted which was replaced by cash cards. The system is still in place at Tihar Jail.
Another heartwarming step was ‘Sparsh’ a programme to help the prisoners who had no one to attend meet with their families. We identified the prisoners who had no relatives or visitors and categorized them in two-cases where family was unaware about their member’s arrest and cases were prisoners were abandoned by the family. So, we got the families involved who were unaware of the arrest and for those who had no one we asked social workers to come and talk to them regularly. This step brought lot of satisfaction among the prisoners who were already living in guilt and shame of being sent to judicial custody. The idea was not only to reform but transform.
I also took a courageous step of introducing open jails in Tihar. We first started with semi open jails where the prisoners could roam around free for two to three hours and then return. We gradually introduced open jails where they could spend a day outside the jail and come back later. The system garnered appreciation and support from prisoners and it is still operational in Tihar Jail.
7) You have been a counter terror expert and carried out several anti-terror operations.
There were several high profile cases and the investigations of the same led to the arrest of Aftaab Ansari, the main accused in the shooting at the American Center in Kolkata, nabbing of Punjab CM Beant Singh’s assassin, Jagtar Singh Tara. Arrest of Romesh Sharma, a Dawood henchman masquerading as a Delhi based politician.
The arrest of Aftab Ansari was a huge catch for the India who was the right hand of Dawood Ibrahim. Asif Raza Khan had himself told me in his interrogation that Ansari involved in American Centre attack. When I gathered all the details on Ansari, I passed on the information to my seniors to get him arrested in Dubai and he was arrested. Aftab Ansari was brought to Delhi alongwith Gujarat gangster Raju Anadkat.
I have written in my book ‘Dial D for Don’ that the dreaded terrorist, Asif Reza Khan who was killed in an encounter with the Rajkot police in December 2001, had overheard some trainees in a Pakistan camp talk about an attack on the Indian Parliament.
The intel was also shared by Gujarat Police to the concerned agencies.
Asif had confessed that he had committed a number of sensational crimes in the company of gangster-terrorist Aftab Ansari, Amir Raza Khan (Asif 's younger brother) and other gang members, including Harpreet Singh alias Happy of Delhi.
We had also received information after the Parliament attack on an email that was coded and after decrypting it, it had explosives details on possible attack on India Gate next. It was a huge terror attack that was averted and also possible war between India and Pakistan if the India Gate attack would have taken place.
The terrorists who had planned to get into the Parliament House, take some important MPs and ministers hostage, kill some others, and negotiate with the Government of India to secure Kashmir’s liberation in exchange for the lives of the Indian politicians.
Similarly, in Goa, Tarique Jalal alias Tarique Batlo of Kashmir. Tariq revealed that he was a member of Pakistan-based militant Tehrique-ul-Mujahiddin which works under Lashkhar-e-Toiba who wanted to carry out terror attacks at popular tourist spots in Goa. The interrogation of these accused revealed a larger conspiracy of disturbing the peace in India backed by ISI sponsored terror network.
8) What is your view on the genre of crime series on OTT platforms these days? Do you think the crime series are depicting the cases investigated by police in accurate way?
I believe that the various platforms have a fancy for crime series. However, the genre of true crime series is the platform that needs a boost. The cases for instance like the Moon Gazers where a Delhi Police officers is sent to Guna to study a tribe involved in crimes and learn about their lifestyle, crime pattern and then crack down on them is a story in itself. These stories need to be told in a true crime series format instead of just web series on criminal cases. The research behind the series requires spending time with the investigators and understanding the case as a police officer. There are some hard nut cases in India which were cracked by the police officers and a web series on same would probably attract more viewers.
Officer, Neeraj Kumar needs no introduction to the readers, he is one of the significant IPS officers, whose initiatives are still operational in Delhi even after his retirement from services in 2013.
An officer of AGMUT cadre, Neeraj Kumar joined the IPS in 1976. He graduated from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi in 1973. He began his eventful career with his first posting as ACP Chanakyapuri and then SP Arunachal Pradesh in his new postings as a young officer in 1981-82.
He served in Delhi Police from 1982 to 1993 in various important assignments viz. Dy. Commissioner of Police Traffic, Dy. Commissioner of Police/South and Dy. Commissioner of Police, Crime etc. His role in handling the 1984 riots as the Additional DCP of Central District was praised by various Commissions of Enquiry appointed by the Government to probe the role of the police during the riots.
As DIG, he went on deputation to the Central Bureau of Investigation where he served until 2002. He led the investigations in the serial blasts that rocked Mumbai (then Bombay), which were handed over to the CBI by the Mumbai Police in December 1993. Under his leadership, the Special Task Force (or STF, created in the CBI to investigate the case) arrested seven members of the Memon family and sixteen other absconders. Under his leadership, the STF also cracked the serial train blast cases of 1994, which occurred on the first anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition in various prestigious trains, and unearthed a terrorist outfit called Ahle Hadees.
Kumar has undertaken various foreign assignments and training session as part of the Delhi Police. He went to Tokyo (Japan) for three weeks in 1985 for a training programme on Traffic Police Management and attended a course on Post Blast Investigations organized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI at Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1997.
He represented India at the UN Convention on Trans-national Organized Crime in Vienna, Austria. He also represented India at Vienna during deliberations of United Nations Manual on Kidnapping & Extortion, 2014. He was handpicked to be the Conference Secretary when the World Interpol Conference took place in New Delhi in October 2007. He has visited USA, UK, Germany, Australia, Israel, France, Japan, UAE, and various other countries for conferences, investigations and training programmes. In February, 2012 he was invited by the UK Government to share his experiences of organizing the security arrangements during Commonwealth Games 2010 for the benefit of the UK Police.
He was decorated with the President's Police Medal in 1992 and President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 1999 and has also been felicitated by Luton Cricket Club, United Kingdom for "making cricket a better arena to play in" in 2013.
As interesting as its name ‘Moon Gazers’, the story behind the story of the Moon Gazers will keep you hooked on to the show for its mystery murders and robberies in Delhi.
