Uniform racket: How ₹2,800 can make you look like a cop

Half kilometre from Delhi University’s North Campus lies the nondescript New Kishore Market, near the GTB Nagar junction in north Delhi. Unlike its more famous neighbour, Kamla Nagar Market, this market has a more niche clientele. Here the khaki threads of authority are spun — but sometimes, with alarming consequences

- Hemani Bhandari and Alok KN Mishra

A cluster of modest tailoring shops hums steadily through the day, stitching uniforms not just for Delhi Police and Central Armed Police Forces, but apparently for anyone who walks in asking for one. No background checks. No real scrutiny. Just fabric, measurements, and a promise to deliver the look of law and order.

This year alone, at least six incidents involving 17 individuals have been reported in Delhi where fake cops, dressed in full uniform, committed crimes ranging from kidnapping and extortion to honey-trapping and even stalking women while impersonating policewomen. At the heart of these cases lies a startling truth: it is frighteningly simple to acquire a police uniform in the Capital.

When a team of HT reporters visited the New Kishore Market, they were able to get police uniforms stitched on two separate occasions ~ once by posing as drama artists, and once by pretending to be a sub-inspector.

At one shop near Kingsway Camp metro station, three men sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by bolts of khaki fabric and neatly pressed uniforms.

“Yes, we stitch Delhi Police uniforms,” said Kale Khan, 45, the shopkeeper. When asked for a head constable’s uniform, Khan requested an ID card. Told it was for a play, he said he'd need a signed letter from the local police.

Across the road, however, such checks were nonexistent.

At another shop, a younger tailor barely hesitated when asked for a constable’s uniform for “a stage performance.” His assistant warned, “We should ask for a letter from police,” but the owner waved it off. Measurements were taken. A bill for ₹2,800 was printed. A delivery date given.