How woman detective Akriti Khatri made a mark in male-dominated business of spying corporate espionage extramarital premarriage checks 30stades
Akriti Khatri can be found roasting corn on the cob in one of the crowded streets of Delhi or sleeping on the footpath in tattered clothes like a beggar or perhaps working as domestic help for a middle-class family. She might as well contest for the best tenant or roadside tea maker award.
Much like Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, the private detectives we all love, Akriti’s disguises are necessitated by the nature of her job. The 37-year-old undertakes pre-marriage checks besides solving cases ranging from data leaks and forgery to extra-marital affairs and more.
Her
clients include bureaucrats, politicians and corporates.
In a largely male-dominated profession, Akriti has already solved over 3,500 cases with a success rate of 80 percent. And COVID-19 boosted business for her.
Her detective agency saw an upswing during the first wave of Covid-19 as spouses were confined to their homes. “Many couples got suspicious of each other. I came across many people wanting access to WhatsApp chats of their spouses,” she says.
Since
childhood, Akriti says, she had a keen interest in goings-on around her and on
spying on her classmates at school and college. She had an eye for detail, knew
how to connect the dots and an instinct for unearthing the truth.
With
an MBA degree from the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad, she had
not planned to become a detective. It happened by chance or perhaps, it was
destiny at play.
“In
2007, I was leafing through a newspaper when I came across an ad from a
detective agency. I called on the given number to learn more about the nature
of their work and ended up getting myself a job with no prior experience.”
Since there were no training programmes for detectives 14 years back, Akriti learnt the skills on the job.
She picked up tips on conducting an investigation, carrying out background checks and learned the value of patience from her employer, which added to her experience.
Akriti Khatri did not receive any formal training in spying and learned everything on the job. Pic: Facebook/@venusdetective
Cut
to 2021. Akriti today owns one of the largest detective agency chains in India
called Venus Detective Agency with a presence across Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore,
Pune and Kolkata, among others.
Her methodology includes using the latest gadgets and technology such as e-surveillance, GPS tracking, disguising herself, tailing a suspect, tracking their daily routine and interrogation.
The Lady Sherlock Holmes
“As a detective one has to be super patient as the job includes waiting for long hours while tracking a person; one should be prompt and well-read to be able to form practical stories on being questioned,” she says.
“We have to be extremely subtle in hiding our identity - a detective can’t afford to attract attention by wearing bright clothes or accessories.”
“They
can’t have spikes or wait on a bright yellow bike,” says Akriti.
Akriti
deals in both corporate and personal investigation cases with the latter being a
major part of her work. While the corporate cases include investigating dual
employment, data leaks, forgery, the personal cases comprise extra-marital
affairs, pre-marriage background checks, child surveillance, and child custody.
A regular day in her life includes visiting the office, tracking cases, getting leads, training and assisting colleagues, attending client meetings. Of late, she has limited the fieldwork as the business demands anonymity but Akriti has become quite a known face.
Commenting
on the industry’s growth, Akriti says the detective services industry has
multiplied manifold. The agency clocks cases from metros as well as tier-2,
tier-3 cities. Average cases for her agency went up from 10 to 12 in 2007 to
100 conversions per month in 2020. The number of inquiries is even higher.
On
the reasons for the increasing demand, she says, “It’s all about awareness.”
“Ekta Kapoor serials too have boosted our (spying) business. People have become more aware and relate with the characters at some level.”
Glorifying
sleuths in movies and serials has led to people opting for these services, she
adds.
However, only 2 to 3 percent of the population avails these facilities, leaving a lot of scope for further growth of the industry. One of the major dampeners is the legalities associated with the sector. This is the main reason that families don’t allow individuals, especially women, to take up this profession.
“Affluent
people make laws. Why would anyone bestow a person with the authority to spy
legally?” asks Akriti on why the profession has not been legalised.
Private detectives can often land into serious trouble as the opposite party can easily press false charges of attempt to murder, kidnapping, eve-teasing or stalking against them.
Detectives
are trained to avoid such circumstances and often have to retreat in case of
suspicion. However, on being caught, Akriti suggests coming up with a good story
or apologizing, or even paying a penalty as the last resort.
Challenges in the spying
business
Listing
some of the most challenging cases of her career, Akriti says handling high
profile or celebrity cases is the most challenging.
“While spying on an IAS officer’s spouse, we spent the night on the streets,” she says.
“In another instance, we carried out an undercover investigation on a data leak for a renowned corporate firm. It took months and we had to work in the same firm,” she adds.
On
the time it takes to solve cases, Akriti says she usually starts with a 10-day
time limit and re-assesses her strategy in case there are no leads. “The cases
can be solved the very next day or may take months,” she says.
Akriti Khatri's Venus Detective Agency employs 80 people across its branches. Pic: Venus Detective Agency
Akriti
has invited enmity from others in her fraternity for changing the working of
the industry. Earlier, agents would outsource work to freelancers and didn’t
hire people full-time as employees. These agents would start their own agencies
within a few months of gaining experience.
However,
Akriti changed this industry trend by taking good care of her employees.
Venus Detective Agency employs 80 full-time salaried individuals across its branches and also works with part-timers and freelancers. The monthly salary ranges from Rs25,000 to Rs30,000.
She has also built an international client base that wants to avail services in India. “I usually get calls from bar dancers in Dubai wanting me to do a background check on their partners, or wives whose husbands are likely to engage in shady stuff while they are on business trips,” she says.
The charges for basic investigation are between Rs3,000 and Rs6,000 per day.
After
that, there are different packages offered to clients depending on the nature
and complexity of the case. The packages vary from Rs12,000 to Rs35,000 per day.
She
often encounters young enthusiasts, weary IT professionals, and women wanting
to foray into the industry. “But there are hardly any proper training courses
for detectives,” says Akriti who has curated a course under her banner.
The hobby course spans from 3 to 6 months including online videos and field training. On successful completion of the course, the participants are awarded a certificate and a chance to work with the agency or to launch their firm.
(Rishika Agarwal is a Patna-based writer specialising in art, culture and human interest stories)
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