Delhi Crime – Season 2 Episode 1 Recap & Review

Episode 1

Season 2 of Delhi Crime starts with DCP Vartika Jha who reveals that 3rd of Delhi’s population lives in the slums and serves the elite, making it difficult to maintain law and order in the city. She adds that the police force is understaffed and the police are divided between catering to the rich and the marginalised.

The scene moves to a rainy night when the senior citizens in an affluent house in Delhi have had some drinks and are ready to crash for the night. Some goons break into the house and are caught by CCTV footage as they attack and brutally murder the elderly couple by smashing their faces.

As the episode moves forward, at the Delhi Police Headquarters is Officer Bhupendra Singh. He chats with another officer about how he is still looking for his daughter to get married when he gets a call alerting him about the crime.

Officer Neeti Singh is now married and she too receives an alert about the crime. DCP Vartika is at her house when she and her husband are talking about the state of crimes in Delhi. She reaches out to her daughter – Chandni who is studying in Toronto.

Chandni also argues with her mother when Vartika receives an alert about the crime. All three inspectors rush to the crime scene which is a multiple murder case. Vartika is briefed about the case by SHO Shubash Gupta who tells her that the victims – Rakesh and Romila Arora were retired doctors from a reputable hospital in Delhi.

The other two victims were friends of the elderly couple who were also brutally murdered. The police learn that the maid of the house alerted the police of the crime. As they are investigating the scene, the police find that aside from the theft, the couple were also brutally murdered.

Vartika asks Bhupendra to look for the CCTV footage and inspects the other bodies. The victim’s daughter arrives at the scene of the crime and asks about the commotion. Vartika and Bhupendra who are investigating the other bodies notice oil on the victims. Vartika talks to the daughter of the victim’s daughter and informs her about the murder.

The forensics arrive to investigate the scene of the crime and the daughter breaks down. Vartika prevents the daughter from entering the scene of the crime despite her incessant requests and takes them away. Neeti is late and as she arrives, Vartika assigns her to take care of the victim’s daughter and grandson.

Vartika questions the maid and asks her about the food laying on the dinner table. The maid states that she had cleared everything up herself and had no idea who spread everything out. She also tells Vartika that the couple consumed White Wine before bed.

After she has left, Bhupendra alleges that the crime follows the same modus operandi of an ancient criminal gang from the rural tribes of the city. Vartika tells the victim’s daughter that she can take her parents’ bodies to the morgue with a promise that they will find the murderers soon.

The officer also asks the daughter to refrain from seeing her parent’s faces due to their brutal injuries. Jairaj looks at the CCTV footage and is shocked to learn that there had been a group of criminals. The entire murder was recorded and Bhupendra alleges that the murder is committed by the ‘Kaccha-Baniyan’ gang.

Shubash also recalls how this criminal gang had terrorised the entire city when he was young. Vartika alleges that the gang was only active until the 90s. She asks the officers to be on the lookout and asks to increase security for the senior citizens living by themselves. Vartika warns the team against leaking information out of their circle and asks them to get to work.

On her way back, she briefs CP Kumar Vijay about the incident he warns her to keep the crime sealed so as to keep it out of the media. Neeti talks to her husband Devender about the crime and they chat up about their upcoming holiday.

Neeti gets held up in the hospital which infuriates her husband. Vartika is back home still unable to stop thinking about the case. She chats up with her husband about the case. The former inspector reveals to his wife how he worked on one of the gang’s cases in the past.

Vartika however is not sure if it is the same group and expresses her concern with her husband. The next day, the victim’s daughter is taken to the scene of the crime to list out the missing items and jewellery that will help find the culprits sooner.

The police learn that the murderers had stolen a family heirloom that Mrs Arora wore around her neck. Vartika briefs her team about the Kaccha-Baniyan gang and their past criminal activities.

She informs them that the culprits used hammers and iron rods to brutally assault their victims and often smeared oil all over their bodies to resist being caught with ease. The police learn that the media had received the CCTV footage from the scene of the crime and Vartika is shocked.

The media blames the police and try to cause chaos among citizens. She gets a call from  CP Vijay who lets her know that the Home Minister of India is concerned about the issue too. CP Vijay asks Vartika to seek help from a retired officer, Viren Chaddha who has dealt with the gang in the past.

She asks Jairaj and Bhupendra to talk to the officer and get him on board. Viren is living a pretty lavish life in a big house which is not likely for a government official. He still cribs about not receiving his pension from the Delhi Police which irks the two officers.

Despite that, they try to convince him to work on the case with them but he demands his pension be granted to him. Bhupendra talks to Vartika who promises to give him his retirement funds once he joins hands with the police force.

Later that night, the Delhi Police Control Room receives a threatening call from the ‘Kaccha-Baniyan’ gang. Vartika is alerted and furious about the threat. Just then, Bhupendra calls to inform her that there has been a second murder with the same MO. 

The Episode Review

This show had taken over the world when it first released back in 2019. Based on the Delhi Gang Rape case of 2012 that shocked the entire world, this dramatized version did an excellent job retelling the harrowing story. Learning intricacies about the case to see how much pressure media put on police officers hindering their ability to solve a case formed the gist of Delhi Crime Season 1.

Now, as the second season airs, I think it is lacking the charm of the sensational case. However, it is the actors that shine here. Shefali Shah as Vartika Jha is commendable, to say the least. She is doing an amazing job as a stern and threatening police officer and it is a welcome change from her comparatively passive approach from the first season.

Rasika Dugal playing Neeti really has a lot more potential than being limited to her domestic issues with her husband. I hope the show can move past that and work on showing powerful and badass women in places of authority in the Indian Police Force.