Inside Sunil Nair's newest compilation of true crime stories in India

There is a secret guilty pleasure to reading true crime books The fascination of the procedure is only rivalled by the incredulity at the actions themselves In Sunil Nairrsquos The Bombay Heist amp Other Forgotten True Crime Stories of India Juggernaut the experience is magnified through the detailsThe daring daylight heist at Bombay House was infamous as it befell the cityrsquos famed Tata family trustWhile the dramatic nature of the Lloydrsquos Bank Robbery or the Bombay House Heist are depicted in cinematic detail it is the procedural authenticity of tales like the Mystery of the Rajabai Clock Tower Deaths that stand out We chat with the Bengalurubased author about the journey of compiling these fascinating tales togetherExcerpts from the interviewHow did the search for these stories beginI have covered crimes from the 1830s1940s in my first book Tales of Crimes Past A Casebook of Colonial India This book was to be a sequel focusing on crimes in Mumbai However when the publisher Juggernaut came on board we decided that we would need to expand beyond MumbaiCommander KM Nanavati dropped off his family at Metro Cinema fin Marine Lines for a screening of Tom Thumb on the infamous day in 1959How did you go about finding themI collect a lot of old books and had found some of these stories during the research for my previous book Besides I am always trawling the Internet for stories As a railway enthusiast I was also fascinated by the great train robberies Few people remember or know that the famous toy train in Shimla was once held up in a robbery Similarly there were some cases like the Elokeshi murder from Bengal which inspired the Kalighat paintings and became a cultural phenomenon that demanded inclusion I also wanted to write about the infamous Pagla Murder Case from Kolkata but did not find enough details to flesh it outHow do you pick one story from such a compendium of crimes through the yearsWhen I select a story I look at how authentic the story is how much can I add to it and how much research is possible into itJehangir Mansion played the venue for a gory quadruple murder in 1971 Pic CourtesyArt Deco MumbaiHow long did this process take to put them all togetherFor the stories set in the Colonial era I spent about 10 days at the Asiatic Society Library poring through the pages of The Times of India and Bombay Chronicle most of them on microfilm For the others I had to return to my old book collection and online sources The process took me nearly two years I also visited some of these places One of the locations was the Rajabai Clock Tower I hope to write an entire book on that mystery Do you plan to pursue it as part of a larger storyIn fact this book was initially framed as The Rajabai Clock Tower Deaths and Other Dark Tales That was my working title Then we opted to start with a faster paced story The Bombay House Heist It had the drama of a filmIt was a surprise to see a number of crimes involving ParsisThat came as a surprise to me as well It is a coincidence but not a reflection of their nature I mentioned it to one of my Parsi friends who laughed saying ldquoDo not underestimate an angry Parsirdquo I also wanted to write a chapter about the Bombay Dog Riots of 1832 and the policemen of Mumbai But I couldnrsquot add them in this bookHow important was getting the details of the crime and the witness stories to your storiesThat was a personal interest When you are a child you always want to play the sharpeyed policeman While they are much maligned these days it is a fascinating jobA Crime trail through Mumbaigtgt Bombay House Heist 1949gtgt Lloyds Bank Robbery 1951gtgt Jehangir Mansions Murder 1971gtgt The Nanavati Case 1959gtgt The Rajabai Clock Tower Deaths 1891AVAILABLE All leading bookstores and estoresCOST Rs 499 onwards