The streets of Delhi darken again as the much-acclaimed crime procedural Delhi Crime series returns for its harrowing third season. Led by the formidable Shefali Shah as a part of the Delhi Crime cast in the role of DIG Vartika Chaturvedi, this installment of the series dives into the bone-chilling, real-life case of Baby Falak from 2012. Unveiling a sinister interstate human trafficking ring, with the addition of Huma Qureshi in the Delhi Crime season 3 cast as the new antagonist, this is a watch that promises tension, authenticity, and an emotionally draining investigation into one of society’s harshest realities.
The exciting cast of Delhi Crime season 3
The latest Delhi Crime season release date was on November 14, 2025. The highly anticipated Emmy Award-winning series on Netflix returned with its latest season and an unforgettable cast, which was anchored by the formidable return of Shefali Shah as DIG Vartika Chaturvedi. Playing the lead as a part of the Delhi Crime cast, Shefali Shah portrays a fiercely dedicated leader whose moral conviction drives the relentless investigation.
She is supported by the consistently compelling performances of Rasika Dugal as the evolving ACP Neeti Singh and Rajesh Tailang as the grounded Inspector Bhupendra Singh, forming the core team of the Delhi Crime season 3 cast who tackles the challenges. The dynamics of the latest season, however, shift dramatically with the introduction of Huma Quereshi in a pivotal role as Meena Chaudhary (Badi Didi), who is the calculated and powerful mastermind of the interstate human trafficking ring.
Other significant characters have been played by the extremely talented Sayani Gupta, Mita Vasisht, Anshumaan Pushkar, Anuraag Arora, Sidharth Bhardwaj, Gopal Dutt, Aakaash Dahiyaa, Jayaa Bhatacharrya, Yukti Thareja, and Yashaswini R Dayama, among others.
The fictional premise of Delhi Crime season 3
Delhi Crime season 3 plunges the dedicated Delhi Police team into arguably the most sprawling and emotionally taxing case yet, driven by an insidious, interstate human trafficking network.
The investigation of the Delhi Crime series begins with two seemingly disparate crises, one being the shocking and media-frenzied case of a severely abused toddler, Baby Noor, and the other being a tip-off about a container truck intercepted far away in Assam, filled with vulnerable young girls being smuggled into the capital.
The narrative begins when Vartika (Shefali Shah), with her trusted team, connects the horrifying dots, uncovering a sophisticated and chilling operation that treats women and children as mere commodities. This network is the one that is masterminded by the ruthless, elusive figure known as Badi Didi (Huma Qureshi).
Themes that this season deals with
This season of the Delhi Crime series paints a grim portrait of exploitation and delves into the issues of forced marriage, labour, and sex work. Portraying a gripping and tense psychological face-off between two powerful women, the narrative follows a relentless, six-episode dissection of systemic failure, exposing how society’s silence allows such pervasive evil to thrive.
The real-life Baby Falak case that inspired Delhi Crime season 3
The emotional core and the vast, sinister backdrop of Delhi Crime season 3 are directly inspired by the devastating and nationally shocking case of Baby Falak in 2012.
The real story began on January 18, 2012, when a two-year-old girl, later named Falak by the nurses at AIIMS, was admitted to the Delhi Trauma Centre. She was brought there by a 15-year-old girl who claimed to be her mother, citing a fall from a bed. However, the doctors were horrified to discover the injuries, which were inconsistent with a simple fall.
The subsequent police investigation thereafter, spurred by nationwide outrage, quickly revealed that the 15-year-old girl was not the baby’s biological mother and was herself a victim of sexual abuse and trafficking. The toddler had also been passed around multiple times within a criminal network.
Falak’s journey from their own mother to the teenage girl who brought her to the hospital opened up a terrifying map of exploitation. The case exposed how girls and women from impoverished regions were systematically lured, transported and sold across state borders for forced marriage, labour and sex work.
Why does the Baby Falak case and its inspiration matter?
The decision to base the latest season of Delhi Crime on the Baby Falak case is profoundly significant because it expands the series’ focus from singular acts of brutality to a vast and systematic failing system, giving a voice to the unseen victims of human trafficking.
1. Exposing systematic evil
Unlike the focus on a single, albeit horrific crime, like in season 1 of the Delhi Crime series, the Baby Falak case allowed the creators to peel back the layers on an interstate trafficking network. By depicting the interrelated cases, the series forces viewers to confront the scale of exploitation that is driven by factors like gender imbalance, poverty, and social apathy.
2. The power of truthful social commentary
Delhi Crime has established itself as a benchmark for authentic, unsensational storytelling. By tackling human trafficking, the show maintains its legacy of using real events that initiate a crucial public discourse.
3. Personalising the abstract crime
While human trafficking is often discussed in large and abstract numbers, the portrayal of the tragic and short life of Baby Falak and the desperation of her biological mother personalises the horror. The series uses the emotional core of the audiences to ensure that the empathy is directed not only at the police procedural but also at the ultimate price that is paid by those who are the most vulnerable in society.