Meet Rajani Pandit: India's First Female Sherlock Holmes

In a country like ours where investigating violent crimes often scares even the most daring men, Rajani Pandit, India’s first female detective has solved over 80,000 cases in a career that spans over 22 years. Mumbai-based Pandit began her work as a private detective when she was merely 22-years-old.

In a post on social media website Facebook, Ms Pandit recalls her early days when she was working as an office clerk for a woman who was fed up with frequent instances of theft at her home. Inspired by her father who worked in the CID, she offered to investigate the thefts and ended up solving the case. Soon enough, she was branded ‘the first female detective in India’ by media channels and newspapers.

“My toughest case was gathering proof for a murder investigation,” says Ms Pandit in her post for the Humans of Bombay. In that case both the husband and the son were murdered but with no evidence as to who did it. “I went undercover as a maid at the home of the lady who was the prime suspect,” she says. Ms Pandit who was trying to build a rapport with the accused almost got caught after her tape recorder nearly gave her away.

“The lady restrained me from leaving her home after that incident, I waited until one day the hitman hired by the accused to execute the murders came to meet her. So I cut my foot with a knife and told them that I had to go out to get bandaged,” she says, adding that she ran out to an STD booth and called her client to arrive with the police. Ultimately, both the lady and the hitman were arrested on the same day.

This was just one among the many dangerous cases that this lady Sherlock has solved gallantly. She never married because she does not want to choose between her marriage and job. Moreover, she has never felt the need to start a family. Rather, she wants to help society to find out the truth to make a better India.

Rajani’s service to society is an inspiration for all the women out there who feel trapped under the shackles of the patriarchal society. She has definitely set an example of being a powerful and confident woman coming out of a stereotypical society and doing what she does the best.

Credits: The India Times

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