Students turn detectives, earn a packet

BANGALORE: The kids have graduated. They still play I spy, but it is no more a game now. It is a serious business which is earning them good moolah!
The young, suave, swift and enthusiastic students have turned to secret service. It is interesting and pays well too. Detective agencies are recruiting youths to check the credentials of grooms, brides and employees and other spying activities.
The trend of student-detective is fast picking up in metros, with college students opting for part-time jobs during their spare time.There are only 500 licensed detective operatives in the country and their is enough work for freelancers, including college students.
Capt Ravi, secretary-general of the Central Association of Private Security Industry, New Delhi, says student detectives are comparable to full-time detective agents.
They find jobs challenging and finish them within the time-limit. Several agencies outsourcing detective jobs have expressed satisfaction over their work.
Another advantage of hiring students is that they have their own network and their tech-savvy comes handy while on assignments. The youths are paid on a case-to-case basis. If they are involved in checking the credibility of a person in office or finding out his address, then the moollah isn’t that great.
But cases of tracking loopholes in large corporate houses ring in cash registers. For such jobs, the students are paid anywhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 20,000.
"The number of student detectives is expected to rise in coming years. The Private Detective Bill, being taken up in the coming Parliament session, is likely to make the process of becoming a licensed detective easy. When it comes to law and order and intelligence, the government is not equipped to give the support to society. It can make use of the organised work force available with us," Capt Ravi said.
He is now touring the country to create public awareness about the security industry in India, which is a Rs 21,000 crore industry. The central body has also kicked off a year-long campaign — Jaghate Raho — to make the government realise the mass force of security guards (5 million) in India, which is expected to go double by 2010.