B.P. Singh, creator of 'CID' and 'Aahat', dies at 77 after a heart attack; last rites on 28 October

His best-known creation is CID, a crime investigation series that began airing on Sony in 1998. It followed a team of Mumbai police officers who solved a murder or a theft in each episode, and it became one of the longest-running shows in Indian television history. It ran until 2025 and completed 1,651 episodes, a number that the reports use to describe its place in the history of the medium. The series made household names of its cast, and some of its dialogue and catchphrases are still quoted in everyday conversation and on social media.

Aahat and other shows

Singh was also the producer of Aahat, a horror series that was shown on Sony from 1995 to 2015. It was one of the first horror shows on Indian television, and it was shown in a late-night slot that became a habit for many viewers. His body of work covered crime, horror and drama.

The two shows have something in common. Each was built on a simple format that could be repeated week after week, with a self-contained story in each episode and a recurring set of characters. That structure, which let viewers join at any point, was a reason for their long runs, and it was copied by many other series.

Ashoke Pandit paid tribute to Singh on social media. The actor Dayanand Shetty, who is known for his role in CID, also paid tribute, according to the reports. Messages of condolence from colleagues and viewers have been heavy on social media, where the series has a loyal following among viewers who grew up with it, and many of them have recalled specific episodes and lines.

The reports do not say where the last rites will be held or give details of the family. They describe the cause of death as a heart attack, and no other details have been given. Singh was 77, and the news has been carried across the television industry, where he was known as a hands-on producer who stayed involved in his shows for decades. The shows he made remain in circulation through repeats and online platforms, so his work will continue to reach viewers who were not born when it first aired.

CID succeeded for a long time in a medium in which many series run for a few seasons. Its formula was a crime to be solved in about 45 minutes, a team with distinct roles and a moral order in which the guilty were caught. It was also a show that could be watched by families together, with violence that was kept mostly off the screen, and it found an audience in small towns and big cities.

The series went off the air in 2018 for a time and returned in later years, and its final run ended in 2025. Even after its end, repeats and clips on streaming and video platforms have kept it in circulation among younger viewers who never saw the first run. Singh's death brings back attention to a body of work that shaped what a generation saw on television in the evening.

For the industry, he is remembered as a producer who started as a cameraman and moved up through the ranks, and who built shows that were watched for years. The details of his later life, and the full list of his work, will be told in the obituaries and tributes that follow.