Delhi ACP whose cases have made it to silver screen twice retires

Singh, who joined the force in 1986 as a sub-inspector after graduating from Delhi University, in fact, never wanted to take up the profession. “In the ’80s, I was preparing for the UPSC exams and wanted to be a civil servant, not a police officer. I was waiting for results and joined the Delhi Police just like that. Now I am glad I did… my goal has always been to catch the criminal as quickly as possible…,” he said.

In the last three decades, not only did he rise through the ranks, Singh has also seen the changing nature of policing. “Technology has changed policing but we follow the old rule book of carrying out investigations,” he said.

Singh’s tough demeanor and his cases also made it to the screen — twice. In Dibakar Banerjee’s celebrated film Oye Lucky Lucky Oye! on the life of “super chor” Devinder Singh aka Bunty, actor Anuraag Arora played the indefatigable cop chasing Abhay Deol’s character — a role inspired by Singh, who worked the case. “There were 20 teams looking for Bunty… I still remember the recovery of cash, jewellery, furniture, expensive goods — worth Rs 5 crore,” recalled Singh.

In 2019, Rajesh Tailang played Singh in Richie Mehta’s Netflix series Delhi Crime, based on the 2012 gangrape and murder case. Singh said, “I met Tailang a few times and told him about the investigation and the challenges. I think he picked up the character fast and did well… We are friends now.”

Talking about the 2012 case, Singh recalled how the then-DCP (south) Chhaya Sharma called him and other police personnel to the hospital where the woman was admitted late at night. “She formed teams and we set out to find the bus and the accused. It was not a tough case but the pressure was immense. The government, courts, media and public — all wanted quick results… There was no scope for an error or delay from our side,” he said.

In March this year, Singh found himself handling a new challenge. A nationwide lockdown was announced due to Covid, and movement of migrant workers began. “I was worried for migrant workers so my team and I went around providing food and dry ration to them. In my area, senior citizens needed help getting to hospitals so I set up a free van service. Pregnant women too needed help…,” he said.