Confessions of a Police Informer

“I’m not doing a national service. I am an informer out of fear”

I am a burglar by profession. I was once caught and served some time in prison. While inside, the police helped a family member. They then used that to force me into becoming an informer once I was released.

No one except my handlers know that I am an informer—not my family, friends or other policemen. I use a public telephone to give my tips. I keep changing my location when I have to make a call. No one except the policeman whom I call knows my name.

I use code words for my tips. Developing them is not easy. The person I am talking to must understand what I am trying to say. I have helped in many arrests, but no one really big. I have received money from time to time. They are small amounts. I have to keep asking for money. Being a burglar was my livelihood. Now, with the police keeping a watch on me, I cannot do that. I work at a garage, but I always feel the itch to go and rob. It is not easy to be an honest person when I have seen how much I can make in one night. I have been beaten up many times but it does not bother me.

The police department does not pay its informers on time. I have to get so much money from them. My contact keeps telling me that the government is not releasing funds to pay us. 

It is very difficult to fool policemen. The officers are ambitious, so they keep pestering me for information. At the havaldar level, they are really not bothered about following up on tip-offs.

Maria saheb [Mumbai crime branch head Rakesh Maria] is a very intelligent officer. He is respected by gangsters. They know his capability. There are many good officers in the police force who are not corrupt. All of us were very scared of the encounter specialists, but now you know nothing can happen. The police will arrest you, put you in jail for some time and then you are back on the streets. Woh Khwaja Younis (a custodial death case) ke baad police thandi padi hai.

Being an informer is a very dangerous job. If I stop giving information, the police threaten to squeal on me to those I had tipped about before. I am not doing a national service. I am an informer out of fear. The police will ruin my family otherwise.

(He works for Mumbai Police and calls himself Toofan)

As told to Haima Deshpande

About The Author

arindam