Crime's New Queens Who Control India's Drug Markets

No longer playing the victim role, more and more women have grabbed higher positions in the drugs trade.

- Mandira Nayar

A fan whirs desperately, trying to slice through the treacle-thick humidity in Kolkata. Files clutter the wooden desk in the Alipore courtroom. At noon, a plump, middleaged woman struggles to stay vertical in the centre of the room. She is one of Kolkata’s many drug queens, Deepti, and has been charged with the intention to sell cannabis under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. If convicted, she faces a minimum of ten years in jail. This could be extended to 20 years.

The defence has argued she is unwell. It was after several rounds of thorough medical tests that she was cleared for a court appearance. “She is a gutsy lady,” says a court official.

The assessment seems correct; for years, with her posse of goons, Deepti has been running her 'business' ruthlessly. She had links with policemen, who would stay clear of her area. But, when Behala, in southwest Kolkata, fell under the jurisdiction of the Kolkata Police in 2011, the cops closed in on her. “We believe that she controlled more than a few areas in the city. Her empire stretched from the port area to Thakurpukur and Behala,” says a police officer. Among her clients were students from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta.

Deepti is just one member of a sorority of notoriety. In the past few years, across Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Kolkata, Agra, Mumbai and Chennai, more and more women have grabbed higher positions in the drugs trade.