‘Inspector Zende,’ a forthcoming Netflix film starring Manoj Bajpayee, tells the story of a real-life hero. The life of Madhukar Zende, the Mumbai police officer who is credited with catching infamous criminal Charles Sobhraj twice, served as the inspiration for the Chinmay Mandlekar-written and directed movie.
With his arrest of Sobhraj, dubbed ‘The Serpent’ for his ability to evade judicial systems worldwide, Zende, who had been a police officer for almost thirty years, rose to fame. Due to a series of robberies, frauds, and serial killings, Sobhraj was wanted in multiple nations.
The senior police officer is now played by actor Manoj Bajpayee in a Netflix movie ‘Inspector Zende‘, that is based on Madhukar Zende’s actual capture of Sobhraj. The streaming company recently published a promotional unit in which the genuine Inspector Zende met Manoj Bajpayee and described the exciting manhunt that resulted in Sobhraj’s arrest.
About Madhukar Zende
Madhukar Zende’s persona is entirely authentic. Charles Sobhraj was taken into custody by Inspector Madhukar Zende in Goa on April 6, 1986. Madhukar possessed three crucial hints that suggested ‘The Serpent’ was hiding in Goa.
After giving the guards food laced with drugs during a “party” in the heavily guarded jail complex, Charles had escaped from Delhi’s Tihar Jail in March 1986. Then he decided to hide in Goa. However, he was arrested in the coastal state of Goa because of his passion for the telephone service of the O’Coqueiro restaurant, which is located in Porvorim.
When a criminal named Ajay Parekh informed Zende that Sobhraj and his team were plotting a heist at the New India Assurance building in South Mumbai—which at the time received a daily inflow of Rs 1–2 crore in cash—Zende was assigned to the Gamdevi police station in 1971.
A month prior, Sobhraj had conned a jeweler in a five-star hotel in Delhi.
The Taj Hotel’s First Arrest
Madhukar Zende recently talked about his first meeting with Sobhraj in an interview with the YouTube channel Awaara Musafir. Sobhraj had come to Mumbai in 1971 with a gang of men who were plotting a big heist. While his colleagues stayed at other hotels throughout the city, Sobhraj had reserved a room at the Taj Hotel.
For days, Zende and his group stood guard outside the Taj. Madhukar Zende intervened and took Sobhraj into custody when they eventually noticed him wearing a suit. They discovered that he was carrying a handgun, a hotel receipt that helped police track down the other gang members, and a cache of weapons including rifles and ammo. Zende claimed that “he was planning something big.”
Madhukar Zende And Charles Sobhraj
In 2025, Zende will be 88 years old, according to Raut. In his interview with IANS, the producer also disclosed that he had always admired his journalistic father. Zende had previously interacted with his father while he was employed by the Mumbai Police. His father praised Zende’s outstanding accomplishments for the Indian Police Force and the Maharashtra Police and wrote multiple pieces about him in his newspaper.
Twenty years after his initial imprisonment, Sobhraj was freed and returned to France, where he made an effort to live a quiet life. However, he unexpectedly went back to Nepal in 2003, where he was still wanted for murder. Shortly later, he was taken into custody in Kathmandu and convicted of killing Laurent Carrière and Connie Jo Bronzich in 1975. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Due to his advanced age and poor health, he was released from a Nepalese prison in 2022 after serving almost two decades there. He returned to France as a free man on December 23 of that year. In 2025, he will be 81 years old.
A Police Officer Who Became Famous
Madhukar Zende gained national fame for his bravery. He even appeared in an Amul commercial and met celebrities like Rajiv Gandhi and movie icon Dilip Kumar. Lata Mangeshkar, the legendary singer, congratulated him and invited him home. Such incidents were common during Zende’s career.
He has imprisoned criminals like Haji Mastan and Karim Lala and once saved a constable from a five-man knife attack. It’s interesting to note that Sobhraj’s first arrest was caused by Zende’s generosity—a reformed criminal tipped him off after Sobhraj enlisted him in a planned crime.
Even yet, it was too late for Madhukar Zende to be informed when a hotel manager saw Sobhraj and his companion Lilian at the Taj. The pair ran away, but Lilian was later found in possession of a revolver concealed in a powder tin and chocolate-coated bullets.
Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | X |
Youtube | Pinterest | Google News |
Entertales is on YouTube; click here to subscribe for the latest videos and updates.
