Chain of Custody

Travel Guide

Bangalore

The book opens with stories coming to light of child trafficking. Readers should be aware that this is not an easy read given the subject, but it is something which happens in this part of the world and which stains the landscape:

“I was six years old when my father sold me to a man for a thousand rupees. That was to be my price for the season.”

Inspector Borei Gowda in the novel works tirelessly to get to the bottom of situations like this. He grew up in Jayanagar 5th block are of the city so knows the streets and alleyways like the bank of his hand.

Much of the book revolves around Neelgubbi:

“Gowda sat at his desk feeling a strange restlessness father in him. The files on his desk needed to be dealt with. Neelgubbi had changed. No one saw it more than a policeman. It wasn’t just the new high-rise apartment black and the arrival of fast-food outlets; the gyms and the spas, the sports centre and the liquor marts, – it was the nature of crime.”

Neelgubbi

“From a quiet outpost, Neelgubbi station had become an important one and the number of complains that filled the diary pages often made Gown think that this must be the crime hub of the city. Gabling, betting, bootlegging, drug dealing, dacoity, rape,murder, burglary, prostitution and illegal possession of fire arms…whatever happened Neelgubbi?”