Sector 36 Ending, Explained: Who Sent the CD to Bishnoi?

The Indian crime thriller, ‘Sector 36‘ revolves around a harrowing tale of abductions and murders perpetrated by an elusive serial killer named Prem Singh. Loosely inspired by the Nithari Killings of 2006, the movie follows Sub-Inspector Ram Charan Pandey, the local chief of an under-resourced police department in Noida’s Sector 36 and its adjoining Rajiv Camp settlement. After a series of missing children are reported to the authorities, Pandey begins an investigation into the kidnappings only to uncover a much darker, sinister plot engulfing not just the civilians of the community but also law enforcement.

At the film’s end, Pandey’s search for the serial murderer ends after Prem confesses to all his crimes. However, the restless police officer is troubled by all his findings that point toward a much deeper conspiracy. The unresolved threads of the mystery cause him to push even further, showcasing just how rotten the foundations of the system he purports to serve have become. The final moments reveal a massive clue that can blow the case wide open, but it puts the inspector’s life in jeopardy and severe danger. Viewers are left on tenterhooks before the outcome can be discerned, leading to some ambiguity in the movie’s conclusion. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Sector 36 Plot Synopsis

Prem Singh, a helper in house B5, Sector 36 in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, butchers the dead body of a young girl in his bathroom. Prem works for a man named Balbir Singh Bassi, a renowned businessman who is out of town, leaving Prem with complete reign over the house and its care. During his free time, Prem obsessively watches a game show on the TV while staying in touch with his wife, who is back home in his village. The day after Prem dismembers the girl, her father, Mandal, reports that she is missing to Ram Charan Pandey, an SI at the local police station, who dismisses it as a runaway case.

A few days later, a decomposed hand is found in the drain behind house B5. Pandey labels it as a non-event and hands the kid who made the discovery some cash for his vigilance. That night, the boy, Ali, is abducted by Prem Singh, who kills and dismembers him like all the others. Another disappearance happens when a local sex worker from the Rajiv Camp named Chumki vanishes after being invited to house B5. Her father, Harisadhan Ghosh, pesters Pandey to lodge an FIR, even following him to the Rajiv Camp Dussehra Fair to make his point. Angered by the man’s stubbornness, Pandey launches a tirade against him. That night, his daughter is nearly abducted by Prem at the fairgrounds.

Shaken by the event, Pandey’s wife reminds the police officer of his duties as a father and a member of law enforcement. Subsequently, Pandey begins an investigation into the case, with his first course of action being questioning the inhabitants of house B5. The interview is cut short when his superior, Jawahar Rastogi, orders Pandey to turn a blind eye to the goings on of house B5, as its owner – Balbir Singh Bassi – was a former roommate of the superintendent. As the protagonist digs deeper into the case, he uncovers a wider corruption conspiracy protecting Bassi and his helper Prem Singh from being investigated and brought in for questioning.

Sector 36 Ending: What is on the “Sada Bahar Tarane” CD?

Throughout the narrative, it is made abundantly clear that both Prem Singh and Balbir Singh Bassi are involved in insidious activities. While Prem is an out-and-out killer on the loose – abducting, raping, and dismembering his victims – his employer, Bassi, is also engaged in certain dark practices. For instance, the businessman pays a fixed amount of money to Harisadhan Ghosh, the father of Chumki, for the girl’s sexual services. He also records footage of his sexual acts with other prostitutes, some of who are raped or worse. Prem collects these recordings and keeps them stored with him on a CD labeled “sada bahar tarane” or Evergreen Hits. After his run-in with Pandey, a nervous Prem sends the recordings back home to his wife for safe storage.

Later in the narrative, Prem is incarcerated after confessing to all the killings he committed. Bassi is also incriminated along with Prem, as the serial murder case is linked to both of them. However, the wealthy employer manages to avail bail a few months later and also subsequently pins all the blame on Prem for the murders. After a short conversation between Prem and Pandey, the former realizes he is in deep trouble and tells the ex-SI the whereabouts of the Evergreen Hits CD he sent to his wife. It is the only failsafe method he has to incriminate Bassi along with him. After hearing his words, Pandey travels to Prem’s village and watches the footage on his laptop, which leaves him visibly shaken. It means that something truly despicable was on the CD.

There are several disks like the Evergreen Hits kept in Prem’s possession. This suggests that the servant has kept multiple recordings of Bassi’s nightly encounters with prostitutes and other events. However, the only reason Pandey would be mortified by what he saw on the Evergreen Hits CD is if the recordings contained footage of Bassi engaging in pedophilia with the children victims of Prem. Although the businessman feigns ignorance of his servant’s actions and detaches himself from any links to him, he could be just as involved in the serial murder crime as Prem if he were committing acts of pedophilia against them. It entrenches him even further in the plot than it seems from the surface and makes the disks even more valuable.

Who Left the CD Outside Bishnoi’s Door?

Although Pandey manages to recover the Evergreen Hits CD, the former police officer’s life is put in jeopardy when he tries to leave the village. He hitches a ride with three laborers, the same ones who carried out a hit for Rastogi previously. They kill Pandey in the car and destroy the CD, throwing it out of the window. With the case seemingly unresolved, it seems Bassi has gotten away scot-free. However, six months later, Bishnoi, the underling of Pandey, receives a mysterious package outside his door from an unknown stranger riding a motorbike. After opening the package, Bishnoi lands upon another CD; this time, it is labeled “Aur Bhi Sada Bahar Tarane.”

As most of the loose ends are tied by this point, the identity of the CD’s delivery person seems like an enigmatic mystery. It would be wishful to believe that it could be Ram Charan Pandey’s work from beyond the grave — the SI is dead and was utterly unaware of a second set of CDs, so he would not have the time to prepare himself that far in advance. Instead, the person who sent the second CD is, in most likelihood, Prem Singh himself, operating through his wife, Jyoti. When Pandey visits the woman’s humble abode, she is just as clueless about what is stored on the disks as the SI. However, following his visit, her interest might have been piqued by the secrets stored on it and their potential ramifications.

There is also a chance that despite Prem’s horrifying acts, she still has a shred of love for the man who always supported her no matter what. His monstrosity was always absent during his talks with her, almost to the point that he came across as a genuinely loving husband. Therefore, she would be willing to help Prem, who is clever enough to find a solution for himself. In the interest of seeing true justice being meted out for all parties involved, Prem might have directed her to collect all the CDs and send them to Bishnoi, the only police officer in the force who is not corrupt. It still does not guarantee that Bassi gets incriminated, as Bishnoi would have to do a lot of legwork, but for Prem, it could be his only chance to prove that he was not the only monster in house B5.

Who is Shravan Kumar? Why Does He Betray Ram Charan?

Pandey’s renewed zeal to find the truth behind the missing children leads him into direct conflict with his superior, Jawahar Rastogi, who is hell-bent on protecting Balbir Singh Bassi from being investigated. Rastogi warns Pandey to steer clear of him, an order that he does not abide by, which leads to his suspension from the division. Subsequently, Pandey sits out on the wings for a while as a new Sub-Inspector is installed in the department named Bhupen Saikia. Pandey and Saikia strike an accord, which worries Rastogi into taking action. He calls a man named Shravan Kumar, offering him a chance to get promoted if he helps beat the investigators. It is only later revealed that Shravan Kumar is none other than Pandey’s trusted advisor and right-hand man, Pathak – full name Shravan Kumar Pathak.

For a large chunk of the narrative, Pandey is often hamstrung in his investigation for some reason or another. The most significant blow appears when Pandey and Pathak abduct Chote Lal, the compounder who also moonlights as an ambulance operator, and torture him into revealing the truth behind Prem Singh’s actions. Armed with the knowledge, Pandey feels that he has finally landed upon a major breakthrough in the case. However, when he and Saikia travel to the secret location where Chote Lal is being held, they discover that he has gone missing and Pathak, who is supposed to be on guard, has disappeared. Later, he appears out of the shadows and reveals that he took a minor break to get some food, which is a lie. In fact, Rastogi had bribed him to help Chote Lal be whisked away, thereby protecting Bassi.

Pathak also betrays Pandey at the film’s end when he realizes that the former SI is heading off to some location with a laptop and other electronic equipment. He reveals this information to Rastogi, which then subsequently leads to Pandey’s death at the hands of the three hitmen. Consequently, Pathak is rewarded for his loyalty by gaining a promotion to the role of Sub-Inspector, the same position held by Pandey. He thrives in his new post and bosses Bishnoi around, caught in his high-flying ambitions and power. Therefore, unbeknownst to Pandey, his own trusted underling was the one working against him throughout the film, ultimately even leading to his death.

What Happened to Prem Singh and Balbir Singh Bassi?

‘Sector 36’ ends with Prem Singh incarcerated in prison and sentenced to death, while his employer, Balbir Singh Bassi, is released by the authorities. Although the two are arrested together, the wealthy businessman manages to scramble out of his plight by pulling some strings, such as Jawahar Rastogi. Meanwhile, Prem is well and truly ensnared in the serial killings and cops the most blame for the deaths, a tactic that Bassi utilizes to absolve himself of all guilt in the halls of the court. However, following the recovery of the Evergreen Hits CD, it is highly probable that the authorities will recapture Bassi. This would complete the circle of justice left unfinished following Pandey’s murder.

In real life, Surinder Koli and Moninder Singh Pandher were the two who were originally convicted in relation to the 2006 Nithari Killings. Prem Singh and Balbir Singh Bassi are loosely inspired by Koli and Pandher, respectively. In the aftermath of the investigation, Pandher was convicted in two out of the five cases against him, while Koli was convicted in 12 out of the 16 cases against him. They were initially sentenced to death; however, in 2023, the pair were cleared of their charges by the Allahabad High Court on the premise of a lack of evidence. Therefore, the fictional reality is not quite as precise as the actual events of the Nithari Killings.