Are you all ready for the performance?
Before I joined the police force,
if I saw a policeman, I would run a mile away.
I knew policemen as big, burly men with thick moustaches.
When I saw a policeman, I would get scared of them.
As a child, I had never seen a female police officer.
I didn't even know that women could be police officers.
But I had seen the power and courage of the male officers
and I was very impressed by it,
and that was something I wanted.
Yes?
A murder has been reported
within the Subramanyanagara Police Station limits.
Where?
Gayathrinagar Ram Temple, Koutilya Medical Stores.
What are the details?
The neighbor reported it and said that he saw a boy crying.
He said that a lady has been murdered and, uh, that there was blood everywhere.
Send me the images on WhatsApp.
Get back. Move away.
Can you call me back please? I'm dealing with a murder case right now.
In my 13 years of service, I have seen almost 500 murders.
Each victim is different.
Their backgrounds are different. The motive for the crime is different.
-Where? -Inside, to the left.
Oh, my God!
She's sitting up.
She was lying down. Her son sat her up like that.
She fell here.
-Here? -Yes, sir.
The forensic team can take fingerprints when they arrive.
Have you called for an ambulance?
-I'm just calling, sir. -They can take the body.
Stand back! Move back!
-Have you covered her face? -Yes, sir.
Make sure you have covered it.
I can't see my sister like this.
Come this way, ma'am.
Any men from the family here?
No, only her sisters.
-Are you related to her? -Yes, I'm her younger sister.
You're Manjula's sister?
Yes. We're four sisters, I'm the eldest, she's second,
Manjula was third and she's fourth.
Was she involved in anything we should know? Come.
Did anyone have anything against her? Anyone she didn't get along with?
She wanted to live away from her husband without consulting us.
Then she moved here, saying that she knows how to live independently.
After her husband, was she with someone else?
Yes. So they say. She wouldn't tell us anything.
Okay, I understand.
People do all kinds of things. Everyone's got a story.
But no one deserves to die like this. That's what we care about.
No matter what mistakes one makes, a natural death is all we can hope for.
Sir.
Listen, these ladies know all about Manjula's contacts and her friends.
-Bring all three of them to the station. -Yes, sir.
Take down all the information they give you.
Make three teams, and catch the culprit by tonight.
Yes, sir.
Subramanyanagara Police Station in North Division, Bangalore,
received the following information at around four o'clock this evening.
A 42-year-old woman named Manjula, a housewife in Gayathrinagar,
was was lying dead, covered in blood.
As soon as we got the information, we have done the needful
and registered a case of murder.
Although we don't know who the perpetrator is as yet,
we will do everything we can to find and catch whoever did this
as soon as possible.
Move aside.
Namaste, sir.
Yes, sir.
Her son's name is Bhanuprakash.
We're collecting all the information we can about him,
but we're yet to get some clarity, sir.
Sir, her husband left her, and he wasn't living with her.
Her sisters are with us at the station. We're talking to them,
and they are cooperating with our inquiries.
I've never handled a murder case before.
The whole situation, the pool of blood,
her disheveled clothes, all had suggested that she had fought back
because there was clearly a struggle.
I think she was murdered by someone she knew.
The crime team has been sent to the scene, sir.
They're collecting all the information they can from the neighbors.
And another team is looking for CCTV footage, sir.
Of course, sir. We're extremely focused on this case
and I assure you that we're going to crack this.
Yes, sir. Certainly, sir.
Thank you, sir. Namaste, sir. Namaste, sir.
There's an ironing shop at the corner of the road.
-All right. -Immoral business took place there.
And this woman?
This woman was into immoral work.
Okay.
I didn't hear any sound coming from inside.
I opened the gate and it made a noise.
That's when her son came out running. He was screaming, shouting,
"Oh, my God! Someone has killed my mother."
And then?
His left hand was completely covered in blood.
-How old is he? -Seventeen or eighteen.
Bring the son to the station.
-The day your mother died… -Yes?
…what time did you go to visit your friend?
At around 11:45 a.m.
11:45. And how long were you at his place?
I was there until I got the phone call. I reached home at 3:00 p.m.
At that time, what were you doing at his place?
I'd eaten something, I watched TV,
and I was playing a game on my mobile phone.
And what time did you leave?
I left as soon as I got the phone call.
Where did you find your mother when you returned?
In the bedroom.
I went into the house, and switched the lights on.
I saw her head. So I went into the bedroom.
Was the door shut?
It was ajar. About this much. It wasn't tightly shut.
I screamed. The neighbors arrived and called the police.
Hmm.
That's all I know.
A suspect is always a suspect.
He may cry and plead with us to let him go.
He may lie and say he is innocent.
Worrying about their feelings gets in the way of our investigation.
And due to that, if I fail in my investigation,
I will not make a good police officer.
We must only focus on the facts.
And find ways to prove or disprove the suspect's account.
Sir, this is Vijay.
Manjula's son, Bhanuprakash,
says that around the time of the murder he was at his house.
-What do you do? -I'm a student, sir. BCom, second year.
You don't look like a student. Look at those trousers.
God help you.
Why did he eat breakfast so late?
Sir, because he goes to deliver milk early morning.
He leaves at 3:00 a.m. and returns by 9:00.
How long was he there?
Sir, he was at my house until 3:30 p.m.
And then someone called him and he left.
Why did they call?
They said that his mother's phone was off
and asked him to go check in on her.
So Bhanu went home and that's when he found out.
What did he say?
Someone's killed his mother. Come quickly.
But when we arrived, the police were there so we couldn't go in.
Okay, go sit.
It's like trying to catch a fish.
People never tell on their friends.
They worry about the consequences if they tell the truth.
So we have to be stern with the suspects, whoever they may be.
If we appear weak in front of them, we'll never be able to solve the case.
After the investigation is complete,
we'll find out if they're the real culprits
or have been wrongfully accused.
Until then, it's better to keep them at an arm's length.
-What was the date? -The 10th. Friday.
-Speak up! -I was back by 7:00.
Was your mother home on Friday?
She was home, but I'm not sure.
-What? -I'm not sure when she came.
I'll thrash you. Was your mother home or not, just tell me that.
What time did she come home?
-She came home… -What time?
I didn't see the time.
Check her call records to see if she was home.
She was at Majestic Bus Station.
Majestic is infamous for prostitution.
She knew where to hide it.
We were conducting a thorough search of Manjula's house
and we found a bag in the kitchen containing about 100 condoms or more.
Up to that point, I had no idea what Manjula did for a living.
It's only when I saw the condoms did I realize, oh, she was a sex worker.
To be honest, I have seen sex workers before.
In fact, I have led raids on sex workers and brothels.
But the sight of these women always made me angry.
Prostitution is something that makes me sick.
I don't understand why anybody would want to do something like that.
I honestly wouldn't even want to touch them.
A woman was murdered in Kolar once.
She was a sex worker and she had met this guy a few times.
But she would get drunk and refuse to have sex with him.
So one day he just attacked and killed her.
It could be a similar situation.
Either way, I don't suspect the son.
No, sir. It's not the son. It's definitely someone else.
His phone records back his story.
Okay, so the son is ruled out.
Let the boy go. He's not a suspect.
Tell the crime team to stop treating him as one.
Yes, sir.
Yeah, he should be left alone. Don't bother him.
Okay, sir. Will do.
When the pain gets unbearable,
I fill my bike with petrol and just drive around.
I don't talk about my pain to anyone.
I lost my mother.
Something unimaginable happened to me that day.
I want to forget everything.
Yes?
I'm at Majestic.
They say her spots were platforms seven and nine.
Call all the other women who were here yesterday.
Let's talk to them and find out where exactly Manjula was that day.
Manjula stood here until noon.
This woman says she saw her.
She asked if I'd had breakfast.
I said, "Yes." I drank some water and left.
-Where was she? -Right here, sir.
Platform 3. She was wearing a red saree.
-Who was with her? -She was alone.
Sex workers really stand out from everyone else.
They're very easy to spot at Majestic.
They're always very dressed up and have their makeup and lipstick on.
You will always find them with a handbag.
They're always looking out for clients, trying to impress them.
A common perception among the police is that these women ruin men's lives,
which is why the police hate sex workers so much.
The police are our enemies.
When the police see us, they call us "dirty whores."
They tell us to go die.
They beat us and chase us with sticks.
The people who are supposed to protect us are not doing it.
Majestic is a dangerous place.
We could run into the police or our relatives.
It's stressful.
Everyone is a threat. We have to watch our backs.
Did all these women know her?
They all did. Many of them also knew Manjula's house.
She would let them use it for sex work.
-Who all? -She'd invite all of us home.
This one here, that one. All these girls.
-Who was she with? -I don't know. I didn't see.
She was one of you,
so tell us what do you know about her and help her get justice.
-We swear, sir. -What is it?
I saw her at the bus stop.
She said, "The crime patrol is headed this way. I must go."
She got along with everyone. She didn't have any enemies.
She always bought food and tea for us.
She would often feed us at her house. She had a good heart.
She said she wanted to go to the temple.
And that she needed a customer because she was out of money.
And later on, she said, uh, she was heading home with a customer.
You saw her with a customer?
Yes, and she said she was going home with him.
She is a sex worker.
We have traced her phone and found out
that she was here in this area at 1:00 p.m.
The incident took place at her house
between, uh, 1:30 and 3:00 in the afternoon.
We happen to know that she took a customer home yesterday.
We're hoping to get an image of the person she may have left with.
Any man who was here with her at that time?
-Do we have a camera here? -Just this one, sir.
There are thousands of CCTV cameras in Bangalore.
Many of them are privately installed.
Outside people's houses and shops.
Getting a picture of the suspect is as good as catching him.
And we won't rest until we get that picture.
Whose is this one?
Search for this number.
She spoke for 1,250 seconds with someone.
-I need to know whose number this is. -Which one?
We analyzed Manjula's phone records
and traced everyone she had called.
She had called a man on the day she was murdered.
We asked her sisters about him,
and they told us that he was Manjula's ex-lover.
That's him. Look at his face.
He must've done it.
This is him.
You are an old man, don't do anything dumb. Get it?
You don't want to get beaten up at this age.
When did you last sleep with her?
I didn't sleep with her, sir.
It's been over a year and a half since I met her.
I don't talk to her anymore.
-What is your profession? -Mason.
Jerking off at work. Am I right?
-What do you do? -I'm a mason, sir.
Come here. Show me your hands. What is this?
I was hurt by a mold.
Turn it.
-Fresh wound? The other one. -Looks fresh.
I hurt myself with the mold today.
-Show them. -This was today?
Look at the injuries on his right hand.
It's just this, sir.
When did you last speak to her?
She called me in the morning, but I was at work.
-I saw Manjula's name and I cut the call. -Why?
-Because I was busy. -Tell us the truth.
I'll kick you so hard you'll be flying out of here, you son of a bitch.
Sir, I met her when she lived near the temple.
She told me that she didn't have a house.
So I pawned all my jewelry to get her a house.
That was the last time I spoke to her, sir.
This bastard is lying.
-She called for money. -When did she call you?
At 12:15 p.m. She asked me for 400,000 rupees.
I told her I'm a laborer and I don't have that kind of money, sir.
You said you cancelled the call, bastard! Tell the truth.
-We spoke just once, sir. -How much did she want?
-400,000 rupees. -Get me a stick.
Four hundred thousand. That's all I know.
-Really? -Yes.
Where is Manjula now?
I know nothing about her whereabouts, sir.
Huh?
I don't know. Really.
Cut the crap. Tell the truth.
I got her a house, sir, that is all.
We are being nice to you because you're old.
He's just beating around the bush.
He won't speak freely with the film crew here.
Give us ten minutes please.
We'll call you back after we put some final touches on him.
It was just Manjula and her son living together.
Her husband had left them many years ago.
She was just 42 years old.
She used to keep a diary and in that she had written
that it was her husband who had pushed her into sex work.
He's an alcoholic who spent all his money on booze
and never provided for her.
The entire responsibility of running the family fell on Manjula and her alone.
That's what pushed her to sex work.
She had to raise her son and she loved her son very much.
Manjula's world revolved around him.
And all the hardships she went through she did it just for him.
I know what it's like to be a mother, so I feel for her.
Um…
I think anyone in her place would have done what she did.
We separate our work lives from our personal lives.
I've left my children in the village
so that they can have a blissful childhood.
I want them to remain happy and innocent.
Look, coconuts.
The person who inspires me the most is my husband.
It's thanks to him that my life has changed for the better
and I am in this position in my life and career.
No, no, no.
At the moment, I'm very busy with my work at the police station.
And so, without complaining or without me having to even ask,
my husband has taken on all the family responsibilities onto himself.
He actually dreamt of becoming a sub inspector himself.
And now, it's through me that he's living that dream.
He takes care of my responsibilities so that I can be free to pursue my career.
That's how generous he is.
Sit.
There are about 50 women who work out of Majestic, sir.
And six or seven of them are close friends of Manjula. A group.
-Sex workers? -All sex workers. More than 50.
They do it so that they don't starve. Their stories are terrible. God help them.
Manjula would pick her customer up from Majestic
and take him back to her house.
She was paid after the job.
There are two cameras near the house
that have captured all her movements in the area.
She called her friend at 12:50 p.m.
and told her that she found a customer.
She said that she was heading home with him.
We think this customer may be involved.
If he is an unknown client, so that makes things harder.
Yes, sir. That's what it looks like.
We've got a man called Veerabhadran in for questioning.
He's her ex-lover.
We haven't gotten his phone records yet though.
We're working on it.
There's no murder without a motive.
Why was this victim targeted? Why did the suspect do it?
We need to work out the story.
A genuine story that concludes with the offense.
We finally got Veerabhadran's phone records
and they confirmed that he wasn't anywhere in the area
at the time that Manjula was murdered.
There wasn't any evidence to tie him to the murder.
Mistakes happen during investigations.
We may presume that someone is guilty
and we may be harsh during the interrogation.
We may be loud and intimidating towards them.
And then later find out that they're innocent.
There's no black-and-white fixed method.
We put constant pressure on the staff to catch the culprits.
But innocent people should never be convicted.
Ensuring that is our highest duty.
We don't have the complete picture of the crime as yet.
He could strike again.
Every second lost is a matter of concern.
The only lead we have now is Manjula's last customer.
She told her friend she was heading home with him.
We need to check the CCTV cameras near her house
to see if we can spot them.
You see the bike parked there? That's the mobile phone shop.
Looking for a suspect in a city like Bangalore
is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Patience is critical in an investigation. It's everything.
We must have faith that we'll solve it, no matter what.
This is from the 11th?
Can you go back a bit?
He looks like the same guy
who was following Manjula in the other CCTV footage.
Looks just like him.
Is this after the crime?
He's in sandals.
Sandals and trousers.
The image quality isn't bad.
-His bag looks the same. -Yes.
-It's a black bag. -No, no, it's blue.
It's a little purple. But that's him for sure.
There's no driver and he got in.
He got into one with a driver now.
-Yes. -Take the full video.
He's getting into the auto now.
We need to show this footage to the other sex workers.
So…
This is the customer she took home with her.
He gets out of the auto and goes with her. He has a bag on his back. Look.
Yeah.
Do you know anyone with a bag like this?
At least one of you 30 women must be able to identify this man.
Has no one seen him before?
Show us. Let us see.
Anything looks familiar? Try to remember.
We see so many people every day, how can we recognize him?
Have any of you seen this guy before?
He could target someone else.
He's on the loose now and it could be one of you that's next.
Come inside.
Tell the senior officer everything that you told us yesterday.
Manjula had a cup of tea with her at Majestic.
I met her at 12:30 at the cafe in Majestic.
I wanted coffee at the cafe,
but she insisted that we have one at the bakery.
We shared a cup of coffee which she paid for.
I haven't seen her since then.
How long have you done this work?
For the last three years.
Before that?
I was sold to someone in Bombay.
Someone in Bombay? How did you get here?
I ran away, sir.
God, I haven't heard such a story.
Any diseases, ma'am?
I'm HIV positive.
-Do you also have it? -No way.
I never have unprotected sex.
My fate would have been the same as these women otherwise.
I always use a condom.
-Take them away. -Okay, sir.
Their stories are heart-wrenching, sir.
What can they do? They're not smart.
They have no education, no support.
With dead husbands, it's hard to feed their families,
and the burden falls on them. They have little children, sir.
There are other ways to earn a living.
Of course.
The woman who cleans my house also works in a garment factory.
The woman who cleans my house earns 10,000 rupees a month.
And she manages. That's how it should be.
We got some new CCTV images from Majestic.
These are today's photos, sir.
The images are clear.
The suspect's face is clearly visible.
It's taken from the underpass into the bus station.
Take some print outs of these photos.
Send the crime team to Majestic to ask around.
See if any of the vendors out there recognize him.
-Coffee? -No.
I'm working on a murder case.
Someone's been killed and we're looking for the culprit.
-Hello, sir, come here. -Yes, sir.
-Have you seen this man? -No, sir.
Move aside, lady.
Move! Stop, stop!
Put him in the auto.
Get him in.
Control walkie, Subramanya calling Control.
The suspect has been arrested. Mukunda H.H.
Mukunda H.H. has been detained.
After 11 days of searching, we finally got lucky.
Our crime team caught the suspect
as he was waiting for a bus at the Majestic bus stop.
You've been going to Majestic before the murder?
How about you tell me?
I don't go there much, sir.
I don't visit such women. Manjula called out to me.
So what if she did?
Plenty of women solicit customers at Majestic.
Why should you look at any of them?
I may have looked by mistake.
Slept with any of them?
My wife wasn't well. I couldn't control myself.
I have never done this before. If this lady wasn't there…
If I'd just missed her by five minutes, I would've left for my village, sir.
God knows, my fate is rotten. I'm a disgrace.
I admit it.
I don't want to show my face to anyone now.
I just want to hang myself.
I beg you to shoot me, sir. Please don't keep me alive.
We'll shoot you later. Tell us the truth, bastard!
Take him away, cuff him.
You understood, right? You're not confused?
Take a record of everything.
During the interrogation,
Mukunda told us that he went to Manjula's house with her.
He wanted to have sex with her without a condom.
But Manjula refused.
She insisted on having safe sex, but he wouldn't agree to it.
And Manjula had already taken 1,500 rupees from him.
So they got into a fight over the money.
They both ended up getting into a physical clash.
Which finally led to what happened. A murder took place over a condom.
For this to happen in a city like Bangalore
makes me so sad.
He refused to use a condom.
How safe do you think it is to go with such men?
How safe are you with your customers?
Before I started working on Manjula's case,
I used to be completely intolerant of prostitutes.
I thought sex workers were worse than criminals.
Whenever I saw them, I used to feel like hitting them,
and I completely regret that now.
They do sex work so that they can feed their children,
their drunk husbands, and their ageing parents.
It is only after I spoke at length with each of them
did I see how much pain they have in their hearts.
Okay, everyone open your Play Store.
Find the "Suraksha App." Type S-U-R-A-K-S-H-A.
Okay, press install.
Hmm.
Open it.
Okay.
So when you press the red button, the police will call you.
If there's a problem and you tell them that you are in trouble,
a patrol vehicle will be dispatched, and come to your rescue.
In this male-dominated world, everyone blames the woman.
And this is what is destroying women.
People should remember that it is a man
that is the reason behind a woman becoming a sex worker.
Yes.
This case has affected me very deeply.
So…
Let's go.
Madam, a little to the right.
Everyone, be silent.
It's her first press conference. She might be self-conscious.
On January 11th, we lodged a murder case in our police station.
Due to the nature of the case, me and the other female officers,
began the preliminary investigation into this case.
And we found that the victim's GPS location
appeared to be all the way in Majestic.
We conducted our investigation in plain clothes
and found CCTV footage of the accused.
Because of that we were able to catch him and bring him to the police station.
-Okay. -Good.
-Good job. -Okay.
-I was shaking. -We saw that.
-Sitting next to the DCP is no joke. -Don't worry.
Looking at the photo, I'm feeling nervous again.
Don't worry, it was good.
I'll tell them.
Come in the front.
WPC in the front.
The first time I saw the culprit, I felt a sudden rage building up inside.
He has committed such a gruesome murder.
If Manjula is to get justice,
he must be convicted.
I used to be a respected man.
Now everything is ruined.
Manjula came in my way and caused all of this.
These women are bad.
They ruin men's lives.
North Control?
-Hello, sir. -Hello.
A child has been kidnapped, possibly by someone known to the family.
Who's been kidnapped?
A one-and-a-half-year-old baby girl.
We've sent the baby's photos and details
to all the stations in the city.
I imagine all kinds of things.
But the sad reality is that child trafficking is a thriving market.
The longer the baby is apart from her mother, the risk increases.