hefali Shah reprises her role as DCP South (Vartika Chaturvedi) in the second season of Delhi Crime. The first season was critically acclaimed. It had focused on the Nirbhaya case in Delhi about a decade ago. After the graphic portrayal of documentation of extreme violence in Season 1, the second season might appear somewhat mellow. However, the narrative is equally fast-paced and riveting.

The second season opens in an upscale Delhi neighbourhood where four senior citizens are axed to death and their personal belongings looted. The modus operandi appears to be similar to a gang that had been operational in the nineties. The brutal murders in quick succession of senior citizens in upper-class residential areas of Delhi and the pressure to solve the crime give the DCP sleepless nights.

A DSP is brought on board on the recommendation of the commissioner but fails to impress the DCP. The DSP sees a tribal nature in the crimes and suggests that this points towards the DNTs (de-notified tribes) that have long been associated with such activities. Their dens in Delhi are raided and numerous people arrested on suspicion of being associated with the brutal murders. When two DNTs spotted in the area two days prior to the first murder escape police custody due to the ACP’s (Rasika Dugal) negligence, Shefali’s character is convinced that the two are indeed the culprits. However, they return with their lawyer and sound alibis. Vartika is then forced to admit that the police have made a mistake. There is mounting pressure on her to name them as the criminals at a press conference to mitigate the growing fear and tension in the city but she refuses to follow the orders and releases all the DNTs in custody.

The OTT platforms have been a great help to some talented artists’ careers. The scenes are generally short; the dialogues razor-sharp; and the direction top notch. The supporting actors do an incredibly good job

A piece of jewellery snatched from one of the victims then leads the police to the actual murderers. The gang of four, masterminded by Karishma Solanki (Tillotama Sharma) is revealed to have committed the series of murders because Karishma, for reasons revealed later, resents wealthy elderly ladies who frequent the beauty parlour where she works. Solanki has high aspirations and is willing to go to any lengths to achieve those. The money looted during the murders is found to have been used to make a down payment on a property where she plans to open her beauty parlour.

When other gang members question her about the money, she casually admits that all of it has been deposited as down payment against a property where she hopes to open her own business. Infuriated, two of them threaten to axe her to death but she turns the tables on them and kills them instead. The fourth gang member has by then been nabbed by the police.

Karishma goes missing. The police trace her husband’s house, only to discover that she abandoned him and their child six months ago and has moved out of the area. An inquiry made at a beauty parlour where she had worked fails to yield any clues. However, a lead is eventually found and the DCP and her team nab the killer.

Asked why she had done this, Solanki says that one of the senior citizens in question had promised to give her money to open a beauty parlour but later backed out. She says she had always wanted a lot in life and believed that when the elderly lady reneged on her commitment, it gave her the right to kill her and take by force all that she carried.

There are five episodes in this season. Shefali does a wonderful job once again. She is an extremely versatile actress though highly underrated. The OTT platforms have been a great help to some talented artists’ careers. The scenes are generally short; the dialogues razor-sharp; and the direction top notch. The supporting actors do an incredibly good job. Shefali fulfills her promise and rises to the occasion by nabbing the gang in record time or on “borrowed time”.

Recommended.

The writer is an educationist. She can be reached at gaiteeara@hotmail.com