Upamanyu Biswas
‘Sector 36‘ uncovers a grisly tale of serial abduction and murder told through the eyes of Sub-Inspector Ram Charan Pandey, a police officer hot on the tails of an elusive serial killer, Prem Singh. When the investigation leads Pandey to the house of wealthy businessman Balbir Singh Bassi, the boss of Prem, a new obstacle appears in the shape of DCP Jawahar Rastogi, Pandey’s superior. The commissioner forces Pandey to cease his probe into Bassi’s life, threatening him with a suspension order if he continues to do so. Consequently, Rastogi presents an additional challenge for the SI, who has to risk his position to follow up on the investigation and obtain the truth! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Jawahar Rastogi is a Fictional Deputy Commissioner With Corrupt Ties
Jawahar Rastogi is a fictional character in ‘Sector 36’ conceived by writer Bodhayan Roychaudhury. He is a high-ranking superior within the Uttar Pradesh police force and also a former roommate of Balbir Singh Bassi, one of the accused in the serial murders. The DCP orders Ram Charan Pandey to steer clear of investigating Bassi and his helper, Prem Singh, citing that they are innocent in the matter. However, in reality, the character is covering for Bassi’s involvement and is a corrupt individual. Some vaguely resembling accounts can be found in the police investigation during the Nithari Killings, which formed the loose inspiration for the Aditya Nimbalkar directorial. As such, Rastogi can be viewed as a composite character.
During the Nithari Killings, the parents of the victims alleged that the police displayed negligence in relation to the investigation. A high-level inquiry committee was assembled by the Central Government, which looked into the reported lapses shown by law enforcement. Several Noida police officers were dismissed as a result, and a few were also suspended from their roles. In fact, a cop named Simranjeet Kaur, who was one of the dismissed, was alleged to have been involved in the protection of Surender Koli and Moninder Singh Pandher, the two accused in the Nithari Killings. She was suspected of having prepared a false report stating that Pandher and Koli were in Chandigarh when Payal, one of the dead victims in the serial murder case, disappeared from her residence.
Furthermore, Nandlal, the father of Payal, alleged that the police had even threatened and harassed him to stop him from taking Pandher’s name. The CBI also found that Kaur had tried to derail the case by bad-mouthing Payal. Although he is primarily fictional, the character of Jawahar Rastogi is constructed around the reports of negligence and corruption allegations leveled at the Uttar Pradesh police department during the Nithari Killings. Similarities can be seen in Rastogi and Kaur’s alleged conduct. However, the former is a high-ranking DCP, while Kaur was an SI at the time of the Nithari Killings, differentiating the two.
Rastogi actively obstructs the investigation by suspending Ram Charan Pandey and subsequently making all his leads disappear. However, the character’s primary connection lies with Balbir Singh Bassi, who he is seemingly in cahoots with. Pandey’s investigation is scuppered time and again owing to Rastogi’s involvement and his machinations behind the scenes, some of which are horrifying in their magnitude. Ultimately, the character is a fictional creation that has some roots in reality but only at a cursory glance, as he does not exist in real life.
Read More: Sector 36: Is Balbir Singh Bassi Based on a Real Noida Businessman?
