They snoop around and get paid for it

HYDERABAD: Snooping around is serious business. Detective agencies get into professional sleuthing on cases of pre-and-extra marital affairs, shadowing employees of various firms and even politicians.
Pre-matrimonial enquiries are among the most popular cases handled by these private detectives.
“A successful pre-matrimonial investigation could save the life of a bride from being ruined,� said D A Shafi Baig, branch manager of a city detective agency.
The services provided by such agencies include gathering information on individuals and organisations, obtained through reliable and discreet channels and business and political parties’ surveys.
Trained investigators use a variety of tools, including secret recording devices, that can be fixed on briefcases, night vision binoculars and digital and button cameras.
The pay packet for the modern day Sherlock Holmes may not be phenomenal but it is certainly comparable. It includes a basic pay with incentives.
The detectives go as far as tapping telephones and conducting prolonged surveillance to trap their subject.
“We speak to a cross section of a person’s acquaintance and colleagues and note the person’s movements for a few days. Later a full report will be handed over to the client,� Baig said.
Everyone from prospective grooms to suspecting husbands hire the services of these detectives, to quench their curiosity and confirm or erase their suspicions.
There has also been an instance when a central excise officer approached the agency seeking surveillance on a company which allegedly failed to pay excise duty.
Baig says: “ A central excise officer asked us to spy on a stock making company which is an export unit and had been avoiding excise duty�.Investigations by the GDA detectives revealed that the firm was selling the stocks locally, violating company rules of making all sales abroad.