SAVVY SONAWANE is a private detective working at the
 |
Savvy Sonawane the savy detective |
S.S. Detective Agency. She completed her schooling from Pune and shifted to Mumbai. Along with pursuing Arts in Psychology she appeared for the IPS exam and secured a good rank. She also studied law from National College in Mumbai. She is a black belt in karate and a national level kabaddi champion. Since her childhood she read stories of Superman, watched movies of James Bond and was fascinated by Spiderman. She didn’t play ‘bhatukali’ with other girls of her age but she played ‘Chor Police’ with boys.
When she was in school, her classmate was raped. The victim kept mum as the rapist was from a high-class family. But Savvy with the help of some of her friends found out the culprit and brought him before the Panchayat. These incidents of courage carved the path for her career as a detective.
After passing the IPS exam, she worked as an IPS officer. “I did not continue as an IPS officer as I do not wish to work amidst corruption. While posting or while reporting to a senior person, I experienced it all, so I resigned from the post. After that I joined a multinational investigation company”, she reveals. She worked for 3 years before setting up a detective company of her own. “The previous work experience was crucial to start a detective agency. I wanted to be the boss instead of working under one. I took admission for a correspondence detective course from Switzerland. The admission criterion for this 2-year course was first class throughout graduation from either an Arts or Science background. Moreover one needs permission from the Indian Home-Minister for this.” So she used all her previous experience and her network and got the permission. “This training program involves one year of rigorous physical training, taking fingerprints, flow of investigation, different laws, and different test cases. These test cases sharpen your brain.” One of her test cases is the famous ‘Abhyankar Khun Khatla’ crime case from Pune. This case helped her learn that there are minute things in cases that one mustn’t ignore. “This course gives us the training to think differently. The learning process itself is so different that your brain starts to think in a different way” |
she explains. It’s been 7 years since she has been working as a detective with the same courage and enthusiasm at the age of 33. “Initially I got some cases from the Police Department. Then I got the cases from ‘India’s Most Wanted’. And slowly I built up a good clientele that has faith in me. My clients confidentiality is strictly maintained,” she says.
Now she has a well-established agency with 17 people working under her, 6 of who are women. Considerable detection goes into even choosing the staff. Savvy’s clients include people from all walks of life, right from the film industry to corporate houses down to the common man. How does she solve these different cases? “The Risk factor is high. You have to be alert, courageous and confident in tackling situations. When a detective makes a friend, he also makes an enemy of the person against whom the case is. The cases involve murder, making of duplicate trademarks or logos, making blank-calls, giving ‘dhamki’ on phones, cyber crimes, enquiry of boy/girl before marriage and extra marital affairs. Face-reading and body-language are the two most important aspects to be considered while solving a case,” she unfolds. She has solved more than 1200 cases already. “Some complex cases can take as long as 2 months. But I normally solve a case within 10 days to a month. Once I had donned a false beard and a moustache to procure evidence related to a corporate case. I went to a dance-bar for getting evidence in one divorce case. I had even become ‘Bhajiwali’ and ‘Bhangarwali’ to solve different cases of theft and murder. Many times I escaped by the skin of my teeth in attacks on highways while solving a case.”
“My job is my hobby. I can’t think of anything else. The Latest technology helps immensely in solving cases. Electronic equipment like wireless cameras, hidden cameras and phone devices that prompt us on incoming and outgoing calls, computer systems that can capture the pictures of a person even if it’s too dark in a room are a great help.”
With branches already in Pune, Delhi and Singapore, Savvy has plans to spread out globally and set up her office in New Jersey as well. She did not get family support but she never gave up. “Every woman should be self-sufficient and independent. Whatever you do check it several times before proceeding. Enquire about the boy/girl before marriage instead of suffering later”.
Hats off to this lady who puts her life in jeopardy to make our world a safer place!!
- SUJATA DONGRE |
