Netflix’s latest cop movie, Inspector Zende, features Manoj Bajpayee in the titular role opposite Rocket Boys star Jim Sarbh. Playing the “bikini killer” or Charles Sobhraj, the film follows the adventurous plot of how Zende caught the serial killer, not once, but twice. Bringing him back to the headlines, this OTT film is based on the life of Mumbai policeman Madhukar Zende.
In an interview with the BBC, the 88-year-old retired police officer revealed that he had arrested many hardcore criminals during his time. It was the extent of Sobhraj’s arrest that earned him the reputation of a “Supercop”.
Who is Madhukar Zende?
The man who inspired the Netflix film first captured Sobhraj in 1971 and then later in Goa in 1986. Born in 1937, Zende served in the Mumbai Police from 159 to 1996. He rose to fame after he arrested the ‘swimsuit’ or ‘bikini killer’ who was wanted in multiple countries for murder.
Zende played a key role in arresting several key players of Mumbai‘s underworld and worked tirelessly during the 1992 communal riots. He left behind a legacy of noteworthy police work and was recognised by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar. In the Manoj Bajpayee starrer, he makes a quick cameo in the Netflix film and refers to himself as the “OG” – the original Inspector Zende. Today, at the age of 88, he lives a modest life and practices a disciplined lifestyle.
In pursuit of crime
Zende authored a book titled ‘Mumbai’s Most Wanted’. Recalling his historic arrest, he recounted the crucial moments of the operation. Charles Sobhraj, born to an Indo-Vietnamese couple planned an escape from Delhi’s Tihar Jail. Continuing his modus operandi, he used to lure women and then murder them, leaving them in a treacherous state afterward.
However, that was not his first crime. Zende arrested him for carrying out an audacious heist at a jewellery store in Ashok Hotel, a five-star property in Delhi in 1970. After escaping with two other cellmates, they had plans to fle outside India. In a high-paced operation in Goa, the inspectors staked out and arrested Charles Sobhraj. Jim Sarbh, playing the criminal mastermind, went by the character Carl Bhojraj for the Netflix film.