Rajani Pandit, 55, Mumbai

 
India’s first female private detective

You won’t find this sleuth skulking down dark alleys clad in a trench coat and fedora, wielding a magnifying glass. India’s first female private detective Rajani Pandit is rather inconspicuous in her appearance; with her unassuming demeanour and effortless ability to mingle with the crowd, she could throw any criminal off the scent.

Hailed as the ‘Lady Bond of Mumbai’, ‘Miss Marples’ and ‘Miss Sherlock’, Pandit, surprisingly, had no role models, inspirations or mentors when she stepped into this profession in the 1980s. And no, she hadn’t even read a detective novel as a kid. “Detectives are born, not made!” she declares.

Courageous and observant, Pandit’s interest in investigations was sparked during her college days when she spied on her classmate who, she felt, was in bad company. “I investigated further as I thought she needed help and informed her dad, who couldn’t thank me enough. His encouragement set me thinking seriously about the profession.” However, her father Shantaram Pandit, a police officer who was part of the team from Bombay investigating Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, believed women weren’t cut out to be detectives and was less than happy about her dabbling in the profession. “If someone says ‘No, you can’t do it’, I take it as a challenge and make it happen,” she asserts. “I was an adamant, angry kid, not resting till I got things done my way.”

After graduating in Marathi at Ruparel College in 1988, she bagged a permanent job in the city that offered her a promising, stable life. “But I listened to my heart—I chose to be a detective!” It was a period when private investigators were unheard of in India. “I had to start from scratch. In fact, people were aware of licences for security services, but no one had an idea about licences for detective services.” Fortunately, solving a case for a reporter of a regional newspaper worked in her favour and proved to be a turning point. “The reporter had a sister who went through a matrimonial site for her marriage. However, the reporter had her doubts about her brother-in-law and wanted me to investigate his background. Shockingly, I learnt he was already a married man with two children.” The reporter eventually went to press with the sensational findings of the case, which got Pandit wide publicity.

“There was no looking back,” she says. Moreover, the case created a unique space for pre-matrimonial verification services for brides and grooms across the country.

In 1991, she launched her agency, Rajani Pandit Detective Services, in a small way from her home. She went on to establish her own office with a team of 20 detectives—young and old—in the bustling Shivaji Park area of Mumbai. “Over the years, we have handled more than 75,000 cases with a success rate of 95-99 per cent,” she proclaims. For her part, Pandit has adorned many an avatar—of a visually challenged woman, a hawker, a pregnant woman and a maidservant, to name a few. Among her most challenging cases, she recalls the one where she had to work in a house in the disguise of a maidservant for six months to crack a case and get the murderer arrested by the police.

Is it risky for a woman to be in the profession? “In fact, it is the other way round!” she replies. “Being a woman is advantageous. People feel women are more trustworthy and open up easily. This helps unravel many mysteries quickly and smoothly.”

For Pandit, a worrying trend, however, has been the growing popularity of Internet and social media. And she feels elders are easy targets, falling prey to financial traps—including international ones—unknowingly. “One of my recent cases involved a 72 year-old woman who was attracted to a man living abroad,” she shares. “She met him online and he started sending her expensive gifts. Her children got really worried and got in touch with me.” Through her investigation, Pandit was able to reveal his true colours and prevent chaos in the family. Here, she has a word of caution for the elderly citizens: “Never share your emotions with strangers you meet online.”

Apart from detective services, not many are aware that Pandit has thrown a lifeline to several battered, destitute women. “When they come to me, many have suicidal tendencies. I take it upon myself to counsel them and guide them in rebuilding their lives.”

“For me, Rajaniji is Maa Durga, who represents the inherent strengths of women,” shares TV actor Neelima Desai, 49. “She has solved many cases for me and has helped me overcome difficult situations in my life. I am so impressed and inspired by the way Rajaniji courageously and confidently handles my cases—nothing short of heroic.”

Today, with the availability of advanced technology such as spy cameras and video recorders, the work of a detective has become easier. “However, the mental acuity and intuitive skills of a detective are irreplaceable,” reveals Pandit, whose daily routine involves providing phone guidance to her on-field detective team. “It is a 24×7 job and I am married to my work,” says Pandit, who has remained single. “I will continue doing it till the end of my life.”

• My success story: “Honesty and integrity are the cornerstones of my success.”
• Challenges: “I look forward to new challenges in life with the confidence that I can face them; it keeps me going. I always have a revolver on my person but have never had to use it. Sometimes, people try to take the law in their own hands and ask me to misrepresent facts. I neither give in to such demands nor give up.”
• Lessons learnt: “Be alert and aware of your surroundings. Be brave and stand up for the truth.”
• Aspirations, goals and vision: “I want to train more people in detective services. I would also like to set up community homes for the elderly as many seniors are facing loneliness owing to changing mindset and family dynamics.”
• Awards & achievements: Investigation Professional of the Year from Central Association of Private Security Industry (2014); Sahyadri Hirkani Award (2004); Udyog Shree Gaurav Puraskar (1994); authored Marathi books Chehre Adche Chehre (Faces Behind Faces) in 1997 and Mayajal (Phantasmagoria) in 2002

—Sai Prabha Kamath

Photo: Haresh Patel
Featured in Harmony — Celebrate Age Magazine
March 2017

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