It seems politicians these days not only keep tabs on their opposition, but also on their own leaders and activists, in order to ferret out any signs of anti-party sentiment. This is being done with the help of private detectives, who are paid fees ranging from Rs2,000-8,000 per project.
In the run-up to next week’s civic elections, the city witnessed incidents of rebellion by some candidates, while others were found to be working against their own parties.
“The civic elections hold great significance for the political parties, and they don’t want to take any chances. They want everything to go their way,” says Shamsher Singh, the owner of a suburban detective agency.
Singh claims his agency was recently accorded the task of keeping tabs on two candidates, who were rumoured to beworking against their own party. Eventually they were denied tickets, thanks to the information collected by the agency.
Mohsin Haider, a Congress representative, says, “It happens rampantly during the civic elections. The service of detectives is used by political parties to collect information about the opposition, as well as those working against the party.”
Another candidate said, on condition of anonymity, “A lot of avenues, including networking sites, are open nowadays with which to keep a check on rebellious activities.”
The detective agencies claim that this work comes to them through private routes and never officially from the political parties.
Disguised as the average citizen, the detectives move discreetly around the relevant areas and meet people known to the target, including friends and detractors.
“All the information collected, whether good or bad, is then passed on to the person hiring our service. The information, apart from other factors, is then used to nip anti-party activities in the bud,” said Suryakant Patil, a Pune-based private detective.
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