Manjinder S Sirsa

The riveting memoirs of India's 'Supercop'. Julio Ribeiro's 36 year career in the police force began in the mofussil, where he got to see the quirky underside of small-town life. Thereafter, he tackled organized crime and violence - including, in its worst form, communal riots - with outstanding success in several cities. Bombay, under his charge, was spared the anti-Sikh riots that rocked cities throughout India in 1984. In 1986, Ribeiro was sent to Punjab as Director General of Police, at the height of terrorist violence in the state. His stint there reinforced the hope of a turnaround in what appeared to be a lost situation, and how he accomplished this forms the high point of the book. Along the way, he also puts at rest the image created of him as a kind of Rambo patrolling the mean streets. Supercop he was, but one who never packed a gun. A personal, informed account.