This was an entry for the Write India 2 contest (on the Times of India website). This story was written and submitted in September 2017.
I am quite sure this story did not go past the initial selection process. It is always good for the ego to blame the editorial team. Not that it would have succeeded if it had reached the 'Celebrity author of the month', Jeffrey Archer.
It has something I want/have to say. This might be its proper resting place.
Number of words: 2950
TICK
TOCK TICK TOCK
The college Principal
had waited for six hours, before the interview, in the front corridor of the
police station. In the interview room, he was not the sprightly middle-aged man
he had been that morning. The lady officer placed a glass of water in front of
him. He thanked her, thanked the male officer too, and finished off the water
in two gulps. He sat stooped over the table with his elbows on his knees. He
was not sure of their ranks. His eyes darted from one to the other.
She said little, her
dark eyes never left him. She sat slightly away from the table, to the side, disconcertingly
close to the edge of his field of vision. The male officer, with a handlebar moustache,
asked, growled rather, the questions. He scribbled in a notebook, the pen
jabbed fiercely at the paper. His free hand remained clenched in a tight fist,
as if he could not wait to throw a left punch.
“Madam…sir…believe
me,” the Principal croaked.
He knew that that
would be the last thing the police officers would do. He stooped a little
further, his chin barely an inch or two above the table. He began his
statement.
“I wish I’d been
there earlier. It might have made all the difference. So all I can tell you is
why he was murdered.”
X
An hour later, in her
office, Sub-Inspector Shajeeb asked, “What’s going on, ma’am?”
Circle Inspector Shokie
did not respond. She placed the Principal’s statement on a pile of seven other interview
reports. She leaned back and stared at it. A small smile came on her lips but
that went nowhere near those dark eyes.
“Interesting,” she said.
“Bewildering,” he
said.
“The murderer stands
out,” she said.
“Bullshit,” he
blurted out.
Even though she was
the finest investigator he knew, in this case and with those reports, it was
his studied opinion that she could not have a clue about what had happened.
Those eight interview
reports had one thing in common. The statements began with the same three lines,
same in content if not in words.
X
“Humour me, let’s
recap,” Shokie said. “Start at the beginning.”
Shajeeb flipped
through the pages of his notebook.
“Yesterday morning, Tuesday,
around eleven, the Principal informed us that a lecturer, Aneesh A.M., male,
age 38, was missing since Monday. He gave the following details.”
Shajeeb licked his
finger and turned the page. He did not see his boss frown at that.
He continued, “From
Monday to Friday, Aneesh lives in a studio apartment here in the city. Every
Friday, he leaves for Kadalil, a town an hour from here by express train, to be
with his family and returns on Monday. He has rented a larger house there. This
Monday, he did not turn up for work. The Principal called Aneesh’s mobile but
it was switched off. On Tuesday, he tried the other contact number in the
college records. That turned out to be the landline phone of the landlord of
the rented house in Kadalil. The landlord agreed to check up on Aneesh and used
his key to enter Aneesh’s residence. He found a pool of blood in the drawing
room. The furniture was in a state of disarray. There was no sign of Aneesh. The
landlord informed the Principal and the latter reported to us. The local police
was glad to hand over the case to us even though they could have argued that it
was under their jurisdiction.”
“Who likes to touch a
case with a communal or political touch to it? Some creep will crawl over us
soon,” Shokie said. “What do we know about Aneesh’s last actions before he went
missing?”
“On Friday, Aneesh
left college earlier than usual. Class got over before half past ten. A group
from the Students Union had disrupted class for some protest march. From the
CCTV at the railway station, we also know that he boarded the noon express.”
“That’s all we know
for certain,” Shokie said.
“Well, ma’am, we know
that he joined this college as lecturer six months back. The first month, he
lived on campus in a faculty residence. He was made the Warden of the men’s
hostel. That was only for a month. He then rented the studio apartment and
shifted out of campus, giving up the duties of the Warden too. By the way, he
rented the Kadalil house before taking up the post of lecturer, and gave that
his permanent address to the college. All prior communication was to a
residence out of state. We are following up on that.”
“Apart from the pool
of blood and upturned furniture, did we find anything else in that house?”
“No, ma’am, the place
was bare, no personal effects at all. The studio apartment here at least
yielded the diary.”
“A diary he did not
take with him last weekend,” Shokie noted. She took out a diary from an evidence
bag and opened at a bookmarked page. “A diary with this last and only entry on
Friday: They are after me...tick tock tick tock...the end is near.”
X
“The earlier entries
in that diary agree with these statements,” Shajeeb said.
“These statements…!”
Shokie brought her hand down on the pile as if she was slapping an irritating
suspect. She scowled at it. “Even though it’s hearsay, let’s order this
chronologically.” She paused. “Start with the Principal.”
This time, Shajeeb
did not check the reports or his notes. He could recite all of it if she
wanted.
“According to the
Principal, trouble started when Aneesh was the Warden and lived on campus. In
the first week itself, Aneesh got embroiled in a fight between two groups of
students. Late one night, he heard terrific commotion, left his quarters and
went to the men’s hostel to investigate. He reported to the Principal next day
that two groups of students had been fighting with iron rods, cycle chains and
cricket bats. He identified some students. The Principal warned the students
and also told Aneesh not to get involved in the fights between left-wing and
right-wing students. A fortnight later, Aneesh witnessed another incident. He
saw three students sexually assault a female student. Aneesh once again
identified the miscreants. It turned out to be the leaders of the three student
groups, the left-wing, the right-wing and the center-right-or-left.”
“How comforting when
they come together for such acts,” Shokie muttered.
“Aneesh wanted to
report it to the police. But, the girl refused to come forward. The matter was
hushed up. The students of course did not leave it at that. They threatened to
finish off Aneesh.”
“He mentions all this
in his diary…no discrepancy,” Shokie said.
“I wish he had also written
down what he did on Friday,” Shajeeb said. “According to the Principal, Aneesh
had been to the Principal’s office on Friday, before class. But the Principal had
been caught up elsewhere. He seems sure Aneesh had come to see him about some
problem with one or all of those students.”
“The Principal’s
statement tallies with what we found yesterday,” Shokie said.
“Yes, ma’am, we
searched the college campus and hostels yesterday. We found a huge cache of
weapons, mostly the type used by students plus a few country-made guns, and
some explosives, low-grade stuff used in stone quarries. We have arrested the
three leaders. Not just for that.” Shajeeb paused. “In the hostel rooms of
those three, we also found clothes with blood on them. The blood type matches
the blood found in Aneesh’s house.”
X
“Next, the statements
of the student leaders,” Shokie said.
“Those rascals are
trying to put the blame on the other. The right-wing guy says that Aneesh had
confronted the left-wing guys when they disrupted class. He says that he was
unwell on Friday, wasn’t in college and that he could have protected Aneesh
otherwise.”
“What a saint!”
“According to the
left-wing guy, Aneesh was going to confront the right-wing guy with some
evidence of their shady activities. He says that his ‘boys’…“ Shajeeb said with
air-quotes, “saw Aneesh search for the right-wing leader. He himself was in
some ‘high-level meeting’ on Friday. If he had been around, he would have
arranged protection for the lecturer.”
“My heart bleeds for
these martyrs. And, the weapons just appeared in their rooms without their
knowledge.”
“Exactly,
ma’am...but, when we confronted them with the clothes with blood stains, they
were totally speechless.”
“What did they have
to say about the evidence mentioned in Aneesh’s diary?”
“At first, when we
mentioned about the physical assault, they sat with baby-like innocence but
when we mentioned the video-clip, they changed track immediately. Then, it
became consensual sex…that the girl did not protest…her no was too soft and
sounded like a yes.”
“Bastards…!”
“Ma’am, I have left
them thinking that we have the video-clip.”
“If only Aneesh had left
that with his diary…” Shokie said.
“That guy had guts to
record the physical assault,” Shajeeb said.
“If he recorded it…”
Shokie said. “By the way, where did you find the center-left-or-right guy?”
“The idiot was hiding
in his parents’ house. He has admitted to everything…weapons, sexual assault…he
explained everything except the blood-stained clothes. His version is that
Aneesh wanted to talk to him about another matter. He was supposed to meet the
lecturer on Friday morning but he got up late. He says that everyone knew about
the Principal’s embezzlement of college funds. Aneesh was going to do something
about that.”
“Did you go through
the Principal’s bank records?”
“His bank accounts
didn’t reveal anything…but, he has got at least one huge mansion in a prime
location in this city…and, recently, the extravagance lavished on his
daughter’s wedding caught the attention of our income-tax friends.”
“Did you search his
office and house?” Shokie asked.
“Yes, ma’am, we did
that while he waited here this morning. In an outhouse of his mansion, we found
a knife with blood on it…the same type of blood.”
“He couldn’t explain
that, of course.”
“No, ma’am…but he has
admitted to the embezzlement. That should keep him behind bars.”
“If his case ever
comes to court…”
“Ma’am, do you think
these four will get out?”
“I know they will get
out. Isn’t that how our system works? Such people always go scot-free. All we
can do is to make them stew in hell for a while.”
“How do we explain
the blood-stained stuff with these four?”
“How I wish it was
just four,” Shokie grumbled with displeasure.
“Eight more…” her
colleague growled.
X
“What was the problem
at his city residence?” Shokie asked.
“This Aneesh seems to
have a nose for problems,” Shajeeb said. “His studio apartment is actually the
first floor of a standalone house, the landlord lives downstairs. The landlord
claims that Aneesh wanted to meet him Friday afternoon before leaving for
Kadalil but that never happened because the lecturer left early. He says that
Aneesh had been having problems with a neighbour over a garbage issue. The
neighbour’s version is that it is them Aneesh wanted to meet and that Aneesh
had a food problem with his landlord.”
“Whoa…hold on…garbage
issue…food problem…?”
“Well, ma’am, the
basic issue is that the neighbour and family don’t get along with this landlord
and family. And, Aneesh did not turn out to be what the landlord assumed him to
be.”
“Can’t you put it
simpler?”
“I will have to bring
religion into it.”
“Ah, now I understand…”
Shajeeb continued,
“The landlord’s problem with Aneesh was with the food he consumed. It seems
they had agreed on the restrictions when Aneesh rented the place. The landlord used
to go through the garbage to prove that Aneesh had violated the terms and
conditions. Aneesh used to argue that the neighbours were putting their garbage
along with his. A silly matter but it is the stuff of communal riots. They had
flaming rows. Aneesh’s garbage bin is kept outside, to the side of the house,
and accessible to the landlord and the neighbours. We had a messy spot of luck.
The garbage collector did not turn up the last few days and we had lots to go
through. We found bloody rags in the bin. Once again, the blood matches the
type found in Kadalil. The landlord and the neighbour accuse each other of
murder.”
“How are they
behaving in our quarters?”
“They are complaining
about police grub.”
The two smiled.
X
“Tell me about the
curious incident of the kid,” Shokie said.
“We found a family
who were with Aneesh on that Friday train, a young family with a three-year-old
boy,” Shajeeb said. “The parents say Aneesh was a very nice fellow. They were returning
home after a short vacation here. They were tired. After half an hour or so,
the parents got onto the upper berths to nap leaving their kid with Aneesh. The
mother says she kept half an eye and half an ear on Aneesh and her kid. It was
a muggy day. Aneesh used a deodorant. The kid wanted to try it on. Aneesh
obliged. The mother remembers hearing him ask the kid, how do you like the
whiff of perfume?”
“Why did he use the
word whiff with a three-year-old kid?” Shokie wondered.
“Now, this kid, like
my own daughter, is a bit hyperactive. His speech too is a bit peculiar: his
v’s and w’s sound like b.”
“Bengalis have that
problem.”
“Anyway, this kid
went around the compartment saying, “he gabe me biff, he gabe me biff”.”
“Oh boy…”
“The parents think
they should have paid more attention to the issue then. They wonder if it would
have helped if they had got off the upper berths and been with Aneesh sooner, or
if they had told the other passengers that their kid meant whiff and not beef.
Anyway, at Kadalil, they did get down from the upper berth to take care of
their kid. They waved goodbye to Aneesh. The parents saw three men follow the
lecturer. Kadalil police followed up on that lead. They got clear CCTV visuals.
Those three are well-known to police, belong to a fringe outfit, repeat
offenders for causing grievous bodily harm to others, and they were picked up. A
bloody machete was found in their car. And the blood matches.”
X
“Now, to statement
number eight,” Shokie said.
“The landlord of the
Kadalil residence told us that a group of men visited Aneesh two weekends back,
made a racket with threats and curses,” Shajeeb said. “They visited him too
last Wednesday. They asked about Aneesh’s wife and whether he knew that it was
a marriage involving conversion of religion. He says that he should have been
there earlier that Friday, and informed Aneesh.”
“Has Aneesh’s family
been located?”
“The Kadalil police
are helping us locate his family. No luck so far. When he took that house, he
told the landlord that his wife was expecting and that they would join him
after delivery.”
“How did these people
know about his marriage?” Shokie asked.
“That’s the strange
part,” Shajeeb said, “no one has met or even seen Aneesh’s family but everyone
in the area seems to know that his marriage is an inter-religious affair with
conversion. The Kadalil police found these men. They too are well-known
trouble-makers. They used the conversion issue only to make Aneesh vacate the
residence.”
“Why did they want
him to vacate?”
“Someone else wants
to live there, and buy the place.”
“Ah, just the usual
real-estate game....”
“I guess blood was
found on them too.”
“Not on them…but we
found an iron rod with blood on it, and the fingerprints of one of that lot.”
“What did the
gentlemen have to say about it?”
“They admitted that
they had carried an iron rod when they met Aneesh two weeks back. They say they
left it there then. They also say that they had not gone near him since then.”
Shokie closed her eyes
and thought for a while. Shajeeb went through his notes again, searching for
some clue to unravel the mystery.
“What’s his full
name?” his boss asked.
“No one knows what
the A.M. stands for.”
“No proof of
identity, not even in college records?”
“There was some
lapse.”
“Fantastic.”
“But, according to
what they say,” Shajeeb pointed at the reports, “the A.M. was different in
different places…Abdul Majeeb for some, Antony Moreira or Anantha Murthy for
others.”
“I am beginning to
love this guy.”
X
“So, eight statements
and a dozen people in custody, for murder or something else,” Shokie said.
“I have never come
across a case like this,” Shajeeb said, “with so many to convict.”
“Too many, in fact…”
“Did all of them
converge at the Kadalil residence and get involved in Aneesh’s death?” Shajeeb
wondered. “How else will his blood be on all of them?”
“That would be a
terrific coincidence. It’s his blood, isn’t it?”
“Oh yes, we have
proof. He participated in a blood-donation camp recently.”
“How convenient…”
“Ma’am, what are we
going to do with all of them?”
“Try them for murder
and the other crimes they are guilty of. They will sweat for a while.”
“You said that one
murderer stood out,” Shajeeb reminded his boss.
“Haven’t you figured
it out?” Shokie said with a small smile.
“No, ma’am…”
“It’s Aneesh.”
“What…?” Shajeeb
exclaimed.
“He has finished off
Aneesh,” Shokie said.
“He set up the whole
thing?” Shajeeb asked.
She said, “Someday
when you are free, contact the police in the other states and ask them if they
have encountered such a case: man missing or presumed dead and a dozen accused
of murder or other crimes.”
