Meet the man who gives police a face to chase

Kalhotra is the director of the Intelligence Network Agency,a private investigating agency. He has been in the profession for 14 years and is very passionate about it. Though he spoke to Newsline,his line of work demands that he remains faceless,unrecognised.

Kalhotra’s experiences in the past have taught him to procure results in the most hopeless situations. It is impossible to draw the sketch unless definite details are provided. “There are so many permutation and combinations that need to be covered and kept in mind. Perspective is very important,” said Kalhotra.

“We need to keep in mind minute details,from forehead lines to the chin line,eyebrows to haircut — everything should be accurate to get a result.”

When asked how had he dealt with the victim,who was already going through a tough time after the Dhaula Kuan incident,he said,“I gave the victim time to think,after which she gave me the whole description. It was a sordid affair,she was suffering but I had to give her time to recollect and revisit the crime scene. I moved away whenever I felt that the situation is pressurising her,giving her time. To prepare a sketch,you cannot force your point of view on the victim; you need to let them talk.”

Kalhotra had landed on the final sketch only after a number of attempts at getting the details out of the victim. However,in this case it was not very hard as the victim was very composed,the artist said,adding that the mood of the person plays a very significant part.

“She was calm and composed,which helped a lot. She gave a good description and was very cooperative,and that made things move quickly,” he said.

The artist keeps in constant touch with the police,and whenever the need arises,he is called for a briefing. In the Dhaula Kuan case,his work had managed to be of great use to the investigators.

When asked about the accuracy of the sketches prepared by him,Kalhotra said,“I try to deliver my best. According to my standards,it should be 85 per cent accurate.”

When asked to comment on the success rate of his sketches,he said,“As of now,the success rate is 60 to 70 per cent. You need a lot of patience and hard work; it comes with time.”

But Kalhotra would rather not pose for a photograph. Moving out of the view of the camera,he said,“I would rather sit in the backlines and work.”