Aloke Lal

Aloke Lal is a former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and best-selling author. During his thirty seven years in the khaki, he helmed several challenging assignments in the crime-infested belts of the Hindi heartland, coming face to face with criminals ranging from drug lords to feared militants. Post-retirement, he took to writing in the long form with his debut book The Barabanki Narcos: Busting India’s Most Notorious Drug Cartel, which is now being adapted into a web series. He has co-authored four more true-crime books since. Aloke was felicitated twice by the President of India: for ‘Long and Meritorious Services’ and for ‘Distinguished Services’. An accomplished painter, Lal is the Festival Director of the Crime Literature Festival of India. He has been a quizmaster on Doordarshan and is also a TEDx speaker.