Dial D for Don

March 1993. Mumbai was rocked by a series of bomb blasts. Unknown to most, Dawood Ibrahim, the mastermind behind the terror attack, had made several calls to the CBI. The don was desperate to prove his 'innocence' by giving himself up, but with conditions.

October 1999. The world's very first case of cricket match-fixing led to the banning of six top Indian cricketers, including the then team captain. It was only in 2013, after the then commissioner of police revived the case, that a charge sheet was filed in a court of law.

January 2002. Aftab Ansari-a notorious Dubai-based don responsible for kidnapping a shoe baron in 2001 with the help of Jihadi groups in Pakistan-was arrested just as he was about to escape Dubai on a forged passport to Pakistan.

All these cases of life-threatening moments and unbelievable relief, involved the sharp investigative skills of an Indian Police Service officer then serving in the CBI. In his thirty-seven years of service, Neeraj Kumar neutralized several terror modules and decimated insidious organized crime syndicates spanning continents, working closely with Interpol, FBI, Scotland Yard and several national and international agencies. Much decorated and feted, he hung up his boots in 2013, after his last calling as Delhi's police commissioner. He has now decided that the inside details of what have been some of the most fascinating crime stories of our times must not go unheard and untold.

The book covers several high-profile cases cracked by him in recent years, including the arrest and deportation of Aftab Ansari, the main accused in the shooting at the American Center in Kolkata, the nabbing of Jagtar Singh Tara, the man behind Punjab CM Beant Singh's assassination, and the arrest of Romesh Sharma, a Dawood henchman masquerading as a politician based in Delhi.

Neeraj Kumar is one of the most distinguished officers to have served in the Indian Police. He joined the IPS in 1976 and retired as the commissioner of police, Delhi, in 2013.
While on deputation with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), first as deputy inspector general and then as joint director, he investigated several sensational cases and conducted a number of transnational operations involving terrorism, organized crime, economic offences and corruption. He was later appointed as the joint commissioner of police, Special Cell of the Delhi Police-mainly responsible for tackling Pakistan-sponsored terrorism-and the director general of prisons, Delhi.
In an illustrious career spanning thirty-seven years, Kumar held a range of high-profile assignments and ushered in novel initiatives, such as Padho aur Padhao, a literacy and placement scheme for prisoners; Aapka Update, a scheme for providing regular updates on police action to complainants; and Jan Sampark, a platform for members of the public to meet senior police officers.
Kumar represented India at the UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime in Vienna and later at the drafting session of the UN Manual on Countering Kidnapping and Extortion. The Government of India recognized his good work by awarding him the Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 1993 and the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 1999. Kumar, till recently, headed the Anti-corruption and Security Unit of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Khaki Files is his second book, whose stories are the subject of a web series under production.