In one of the scenes in Delhi Crime, DCP Vartika Chaturvedi’s junior officer proposes to take the fall for an incident at the police station, she responds, “If you take the fall, what does that say about me and our team’s competence? Just keep everyone in this building safe, or else I will shoot you myself one day. But I will stand in between you and anyone who tries to shoot you.”

While critics praised Delhi Crime for the portrayal of its women police officers, the show’s team told us in their interviews that this realistic portrayal was made possible by the actors, who spent long hours at police stations, and writer-director Richie Mehta’s years of interviewing, and observing the investigation team.

Delhi Crime received a lot of appreciation for its portrayal of Vartika Chaturvedi (played by Shefali Shah), a character based on IPS officer Chhaya Sharma, which was unlike any other portrayal of female police officers on screen. Chhaya Sharma, who was then (during Nirbhaya investigation) DCP South, Delhi Police, and is currently posted as Joint CP EOW, Delhi Police, suggested Richie observe police stations to understand how the police department works, and he took her advice.

Observing female police officers helped Richie create strong female leads. He described listening to their stories as his emotional entry point, and said, “Their experiences made me realize that not many stories from their point of view have been told. I chose to show the character of Neeti Singh (played by Rasika Dugal) for a specific reason. It was based on a real person who was by Nirbhaya’s bedside in the hospital and was then called to India Gate at the frontline during consequent protests.”

In an interview, Richie had discussed how he created the show’s strong, layered female characters, particularly the DCP. The series portrays her as an officer who never minces her words and never cuts anyone slack based on gender. The show received a thumbs-up for several reasons, including the portrayal of its protagonist as a police officer and not just a woman police officer.

Rasika Dugal, whose character Neeti Singh is an IPS probationer, says, “In Season 1, I shadowed an IPS officer who was a probationer, because Neeti was at the same position.”

About her role as a female officer in command, Shefali Shah told us earlier, “A lot of research went into creating the character of Vartika Chaturvedi. For me, it was not about replicating her (Chhaya Sharma) as a person. When it came to Vartika, it was about creating a character with the same values and the same work ethic. You grab the emotion and then you create this person.”