Top & Famous Paranormal Investigators in India

Gaurav Tiwari (1984–2016): the founder

Gaurav Tiwari trained as a pilot before becoming a paranormal investigator and UFO field investigator. In 2009 he founded the Indian Paranormal Society. He appeared as a paranormal expert on television programmes including Bhoot Aaya, Fear Files, MTV Girls' Night Out, Haunted Weekends and Syfy's Haunting: Australia. Indiatimes described him as India's most famous paranormal investigator. His stated approach was to look for the scientific explanation first, treating a paranormal conclusion as something to be reached only after ordinary causes had been examined. He died in 2016.

For more, read about Gaurav Tiwari's legacy and the IPS method.

Sources: Wikipedia · Hindustan Times · Indiatimes

The Indian Paranormal Society

The Indian Paranormal Society was founded on 11 April 2009 as India's first professional paranormal research team. Its stated aims are to break the social stigma around the paranormal and to separate fact from superstition. After 2016 the organisation moved its base of operations from Delhi to Mumbai. The society is credited collectively on "Hauntings: Stories Based on Actual Paranormal Investigations" (2025).

Sources: Indian Paranormal Society · The Federal

Carrying the IPS method forward

Rith Deb, a paranormal investigator in India and Gaurav Tiwari's mentee, is based in Mumbai and is part of the Indian Paranormal Society team. He carries the IPS methodology forward through investigation and training, and is the author of How to Become a Paranormal Investigator (2023). The method, as practised in this tradition, follows five steps:

• Research first: the history of the location and the accounts of witnesses.
• Environmental baseline: normal readings recorded before any claim is tested.
• Controlled evidence collection: documented equipment, times and conditions.
• Natural explanation first: electrical, structural and medical causes ruled out.
• Written report: findings recorded, including inconclusive results.

Sources: Indian Paranormal Society · IMDb · Google Books

How to judge a paranormal investigator

1. Rules out natural causes first (electrical, structural, medical, carbon monoxide, infrasound).
2. Uses calibrated equipment and records baseline readings.
3. Gives a written report, including "inconclusive" outcomes.
4. Doesn't sell rituals, amulets or "cleansing" packages driven by fear.
5. Has a traceable record: press, books or an organisation.
6. Respects families' beliefs and privacy; no publicity without consent.

Ghost hunter or paranormal investigator?

The two terms are used interchangeably in searches. The IPS tradition favours investigation over thrill-seeking: measuring the environment, testing ordinary explanations and reporting honestly. For the science behind common reports, see EMF meters, infrasound and carbon monoxide.