In the highly anticipated third season of Delhi Crime, Shefali Shah reprises her role as DIG Vartika Chaturvedi, this time leading her team on a harrowing journey across India to dismantle a human trafficking network. The investigation spans from Silchar and Aizawl to Delhi, Rohtak, Surat, and Panvel, exposing the dark underworld of girl trafficking in a society that often turns a blind eye to missing young women.
The Case That Exposes Societal Indifference
The narrative begins when a grandmother reports her granddaughter Sonam missing, triggering an investigation that reveals a much larger conspiracy. In a society where female fetuses are often aborted and young girls married to elderly men, who would bother reporting a missing girl? This poignant question forms the emotional core of the season as Vartika and her team pursue every lead.
The investigation introduces viewers to Meena and Vijay - names so ordinary they could belong to anyone in your neighborhood, yet they're responsible for selling fourteen-year-old girls to men. The show brilliantly highlights how evil often wears the mask of normalcy, making it even more terrifying.
Women Take Center Stage in Investigation
This season notably shifts focus to its female characters, both in front of and behind the camera. While Vartika's team includes capable male officers like Bhupendra, Jairaj, and Ashutosh, the women drive the investigation forward, dealing with a crime that disproportionately affects their gender.
Even Vartika's husband, himself a police officer, questions her methods, telling her: "As the Additional Commissioner I think that you have behaved irresponsibly. And as a husband, I am just fed up." This interaction perfectly captures the patriarchal pressures professional women face, even from their closest allies.
Powerful Performances and Chilling Realism
The show features standout performances from its ensemble cast. While Shefali Shah's Vartika remains the moral compass, Meeta Vashist delivers a terrifying performance as the unrepentant Kalyani, and Sayani Gupta shines as the trainer who prepares kidnapped girls for their grim fate.
Hum Qureshi as Badi Didi creates bone-chilling moments, particularly in a scene where she silences a coughing captive girl. Her backstory reveals a woman shaped by her own trauma, having arrived at her husband's home as a young girl and being 'set right' by Chaudhary.
The show doesn't shy away from asking difficult questions through its characters. One trafficked girl asks the female cops: "Who do I complain about? My parents? They sold me off when I was a child. Or about the family who bought me from the trafficker? Everyone knows what is going on, but no one cares."
Global Context and Social Commentary
Drawing parallels with international scandals like Epstein and the Korean show As You Stood By, Delhi Crime Season 3 positions itself within a global conversation about gender-based violence. The show highlights how trafficking remains an endemic problem with complicity at multiple levels of society, including law enforcement and powerful men.
The series also captures the frustrating reality of village justice, where trafficking is dismissed as a 'family matter' in Rohtak, mirroring how domestic violence is handled in Seoul, where bruises are hidden under long sleeves and women are advised to 'settle it among yourselves.'
While the show maintains single-minded focus on finding the missing girls transported in trucks after being drugged, it does have some narrative missteps. Certain scenes, like Bhupendra drinking tea during a hospital stakeout or villains delivering lengthy monologues, test viewer patience.
For those who find the subject matter too heavy, the author recommends Ichikei's Crow on Netflix as a positive alternative. However, despite its intense themes, Delhi Crime Season 3 remains essential viewing, with hopes already high for a fourth season that continues its unflinching look at crimes against women in India.
