Who was Himanshu Roy, the Mumbai top cop played by Harman Baweja in Netflix series Scoop?

Hansal Mehta’s new web series Scoop on Netflix not only brings on screen the life of journalists Jigna Vora and Jyotirmoy Dey, but also sheds light on the life of Mumbai top cop Himanshu Roy, who had spearheaded the investigation of J Dey murder case in 2011.

His role in the web series is played by actor Harman Bewaja who also makes his debut on OTT. Sporting a mustache and a muscular bulky body, Baweja plays the role of Mumbai top cop, Himanshu Roy as JCP Shroff. 

Who was Himanshu Roy?

An IPS officer of the 1988 batch, Himanshu Roy served as Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) from 2010 to 2014. Roy had taken charge at a time when the gangsters from Dawood Ibrahim’s D company and Chhota Rajan’s gang were having a gang war.

During his four year stint as the Joint Commissioner, Roy was involved in some high-profile cases like IPL 2013 betting scandal, murder of law graduate Pallavi Purkayastha, daughter of an IAS officer and murder of Laila Khan and five of her relatives at their farmhouse.

Roy handles the J Dey murder case

This was the same time when Roy was handed over the case of murder of journalist Jyotirmoy Dey, who was shot dead on June 11, 2011 in Mumbai’s Powai area by four unknown assialants.

Though it was clear from the beginning that the murder was a revenge exacted by the Chhota Rajan gang against J Dey,  Roy did the unthinkable when he also accused a woman journalist, crime reporter Jigna Vora, for instigating the murder. Vora was a crime reporter then, working with Asian Age newspaper. J Dey was with the Mid-Day tabloid.

Surprisingly, Roy was also the one who used to share crucial information with journalist Vora for her stories. But later he pointed finger at her for instigating the murder of her fellow journalist due to her alleged links with Chhota Rajan gang. She was arrested on these charges on November 25, 2011.

Roy vs Vora

Himanshu Roy was one of the first investigators from the Mumbai Police to have raised the fingers on Vora for her involvement in J Dey’s murder. Roy, in a press conference, made a statement that the Mumbai Police had strong evidence against Vora and that the police had transcripts of 36 phone records between Vora and Chhota Rajan.

“When she was called for questioning for the first time, she was evasive and claimed she never spoke to Rajan. When she was called for the second time, she was told how her phone records show otherwise. This was one of the contradictions she made during questioning that made investigators doubt her claims. There were numerous calls between her and Rajan,” PTI quoted Roy speaking at the press conference.

Roy had confidently asserted that the police had proof that Vora had given crucial information about J Dey to Rajan. “If she rubbishes our claims, then the onus is on her to prove her innocence in court,” Roy had said.

“There is evidence to show that there was enmity between Vora and J Dey over slain gangster Farid Tanasha,” Himanshu Roy said adding that there were 36 incoming and outgoing calls to Rajan from her phone. 

“There are transcripts of Rajan saying that he regretted killing Dey and that it had happened because Vora instigated him,” Roy added.

However, the chargesheet contained none of the transcripts of the 36 phone calls between Rajan and Jigna Vora and the case against Vora by Mumbai Police was considered “weak”. 

Vora was given bail after 10 months of custody, and in 2018, nearly 7 years after being accused of being party to a murder, she was exonerated by the court.

Roy’s tragic end

Himanshu Roy was considered one of the most upright and physically fit police officers. However, a bone marrow cancer got the better of him and within four years of diagnosis, Roy shot himself to death at his Mumbai residence.

It was the same year that Chhota Rajan was convicted and sentenced to life-imprisonment along with seven others for the murder of journalist Dey. Vora, who was initially charged with Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA), was exonerated.

Roy left a suicide note saying he was depressed because of his incurable cancer. He was 54.