Cast: Shefali Shah, Huma Qureshi, Rasika Dugal, Rajesh Tailang, Sayani Gupta, Sidharth Bhardwaj, Mita Vasisht, Anuraag Arora, Gopal Dutt, Jayaa Bhatacharrya, Aakaash Dahiyaa, Yashaswini R Dayama, Anshumaan Pushkar, Yukti Thareja
Director: Tanuj Chopra
Platform : Netflix
Epsiodes: 6
Rating : 3
Delhi Crime has always been more than a police procedural. It is a series that looks beyond uniforms and badges to show the people wearing them—their exhaustion, their doubts, and their stubborn sense of duty. With Season 3, Netflix’s flagship crime drama returns to this core strength while stepping into one of the darkest corners of modern India: women trafficking.
This season opens with a disturbing case an injured baby abandoned at AIIMS. What looks like a one-off incident soon widens into a trail of exploitation that stretches across states. At the centre once again is DCP Vartika Chaturvedi, played with extraordinary restraint by Shefali Shah, who brings a rare calm intensity to every frame she occupies. Vartika is older now, tougher, and visibly worn down by the system, yet she continues to move through chaos with a kind of silent authority that keeps the show grounded.
The big surprise of the season is the villain—Huma Qureshi as Meena/Badi Didi—a trafficker who feels both chilling and heartbreakingly real. She is not written as a loud, caricatured criminal; instead, she is shaped by the same flawed world that she preys on. Her soft voice and unflinching cruelty create an unsettling contrast, and Huma owns the character with a performance that’s as layered as it is terrifying.
Rasika Dugal, as ACP Neeti Singh, gets a beautifully written arc this time. She balances her personal crisis with the weight of the job, and Rasika plays her pain with an honesty that never slips into melodrama. Rajesh Tailang as Bhupendra Singh remains the emotional anchor of the team—steady, empathetic, and quietly brilliant. A special mention must go to Yukti Thareja, whose fresh presence brings energy to the otherwise heavy narrative.
Where the season truly shines is in its treatment of the theme. Women trafficking is a subject easy to dramatise, but the makers choose realism over shock value. The writing refuses to sensationalise; instead, it keeps the focus on the emotional cost—what the victims endure, and what the officers must absorb as they try to protect them. The direction moves smoothly between police work and personal life, allowing the audience to breathe even in the middle of a grim investigation.
But the season isn’t flawless. The pace dips in parts, and the storytelling sometimes becomes too safe, as if the show is aware of its own reputation. The climax stretches longer than necessary, and a few moments feel more “filmi” than the grounded tone the series is known for. Still, these bumps don’t undo the power of the performances.
What makes Delhi Crime Season 3 compelling is not just the crime but the people dealing with it. You feel the fatigue in their bodies, the moral burden in their choices, and the emotional toll of chasing shadows in a system full of cracks. Shefali Shah and Huma Qureshi facing off across this moral landscape is reason enough to watch the season—they both command the screen in completely different ways.
In the end, Delhi Crime Season 3 is an uncomfortably real and emotionally resonant watch. It may not be as groundbreaking as the first season, but it remains brave, humane, and deeply relevant.