A Night of Ganesha Chaturthi
A Night of Ganesha Chaturthi
The streets of Bengaluru commemorated Ganesha Chaturthi with grandeur. A huge Ganesha idol adorned with jewellery and flowers was kept at the end of the palace grounds. Thousands of people flocked to the large ground to seek the blessings of God. The sight of Ganesha was a beautiful feast to the eyes. Pooja was performed and sweets were distributed. Devotees widened their gaze to applaud the sight of the idol which had indeed become the centre of attraction. Slowly the day was replaced by the night. The minister, Aravind, slipped out of his exorbitant car and strode towards the ground. He was flanked by his bodyguards. Even some cops had materialized at the spot to prevent untoward incidents. The street lights and the light wires scourged the streets with its illuminance curbing darkness. Drum beaters had gathered in large numbers. As per the tradition, the minister alone would perform pooja to the idol before it is taken out to be immersed in the river. Small children waved their hands excitedly. Drum beats muffled the voices of people. Aravind ambled along the red carpet alone towards the giant idol. He folded his hands to seek the blessings before he performed Pooja. People were a few yards away from him and they unanimously shouted, "Ganapathi Bappa Moreya"
Aravind's wife Uma and his brothers Venu and Gopi flanked by the bodyguards gazed at the idol folding their hands in a namaste posture
Spiritual fragrance filled the air and the festive spirit was at its very best. A sharp and long knife placed on the right hand of the idol pierced through his chest, and the blood seeped out of his body as he fell thud on the ground. People couldn't believe their eyes, and they ran helter-skelter. Some innocent folks succumbed to the stampede and the situation spiralled out of control. In a shocking turn of events, the minister breathed his last next to the glittering idol. His bodyguards immediately checked around to see if someone had deliberately murdered him but to no avail. The cops were not prepared for this unexpected scene and they looked perplexed. Uma and the minister's brothers had their eyes welled up, unable to take in the bloody scene. The astounding news circulated the nook and corner of the city in a jiffy and media reporters thronged to the place to feed the breaking news to the ears of people. This was indeed unprecedented.
The onus fell on the sub-inspector Veer's shoulders to take up the case. He began the investigation process. Along with their fellow cops, he visited the large ground where the murder occurred to see if he could ascertain any evidence about the case. Later on, he drove towards the minister's house. He first spoke with the minister's wife Uma.
"Did your husband receive any death threats?" he asked.
"No," Uma lamented.
"Any political tension with opposition parties?"
"He had not involved me in any political activities. Since he recently won the elections, maybe the opposition party got pissed off and might have terminated him," she exclaimed.
"It is just a speculation as of now," the cop responded.
"We can't trust anybody. My husband facilitated the movement of long-forgotten projects. He always strived hard to improve the conditions of the poor and the downtrodden. His murder is unacceptable and the culprit needs to be booked and must be handed a stringent punishment," she said.
"Yes, your husband is revered by the people and what happened to him is injustice," the cop responded.
He darted his gaze on his brother's.
"Were you guys by any means envious of your brother?" Veer asked.
They were taken aback by the verbal bash. They gazed at each other perplexed.
"He is our brother and we work for him. There is no chance of us being envious of his success," Venu responded.
"We have investigated many cases of sibling rivalries in the past. We cannot rule out any possibility as of now," he said.
"You can probe further into the case, and then you will understand that we had no bearing on the murder," Venu asserted.
"Truth can't hide beneath the cloak for a long time, and it has to reach the surface sooner or later," Veer walked out of his house, twirling his moustache.
Veer met the leader of the opposition party, Venkat.
"It is my duty to carry out the investigation and I would do it in my own inimitable style," Veer said.
"Of course! When we have played no part in the murder, we have no reason to be scared," he gulped down a glass of water.
"Your party lost to Aravind and certainly a doubt creeps up that someone in your party might have pulled the strings," Veer had a solemn look on his face.
"We might be the opposition party but we are human beings first. We are not someone who relish the murder of a human being. We unequivocally condemn the murder, and whoever is responsible must be booked with immediate effect. This is a colossal loss to the society," Venkat said.
"Did you orchestrate the murder?"
"Why would I do that? A murderer always lives in fear. Why would I toss my political career in jeopardy? Who knows someone closer to him might have covertly plotted this."
"We shall dig in much into the case and see if someone indeed murdered him or not. Truth can't hide in the bottle for a long time. It has to pop out," Veer donned his cap and sauntered away to the station.
Weeks and months flew by. The police probed the case further but nothing substantial came into the fore. Eventually, the police closed the case with the following remarks.
"The minister Aravind got stabbed by a long knife placed on the hand of the Ganesha idol. After deft investigation, it can be proved that the minister had bent his body and accidentally came in contact with the knife. He might have slipped forward, allowing the knife to stab his chest. Nobody was present at the spot since everyone had to maintain a certain distance during the Pooja period. Keeping in consideration the above points, we are closing this case. If we suspect or find any more evidence going forward, this case can be reopened."
Some folks accepted the remarks whereas some argued that it was an act of murder and the police did not do justice to the case.
Years flew by. A new government came to power, and the new minister too. As per the tradition, the huge Ganesha idol was placed on the palace grounds on the occasion of Ganesha Chaturthi. After what had happened to Aravind some years ago, strict measures were taken to prevent any untoward incidents during the minister's visit. As usual, people donned the festive spirit and revelled in the celebration of Ganesha. Hours evaporated in a jiffy and the sun disappeared below the horizon. Some decorated themselves as a tiger and were ready to do the tiger dance. Drumbeaters had come to switch on the dance button of the people. Crackers were bursting, and the firecrackers painted the sky with its glittering light. Small children were busy playing. The festive spirit echoed through the air. The minister Ranjan climbed out of his expensive car and hurried towards the idol. The police Veer and his team scanned around being vigilant. The dancers went berserk and they were applauded for their relentless dancing spirit which refused to subside. Subsequently, one of the tiger dancers removed his face mask and gazed at the police. Veer did a double take and had his heart jump to his mouth. He couldn't grapple with the shocking moment and couldn't control his throbbing heart. He followed the man who seemed to be running towards a secluded spot away from the prying eyes of people. The spot was filled with silence in complete contrast to the palace grounds punctuated with deafening noise. The minister had performed the Pooja and the idol was now prepared for a procession. Veer looked around gripped in fear. His eyeballs caught the glimpse of a man entering into a deserted room. He flicked on the torchlight and entered the room and caught the tiger dancer.
"You can't kill a person twice. I know what you did to our honourable minister Aravind. I will unfold the truth to the world," he said in a shaky voice.
Veer broke into a deadly laughter.
"I made a mistake last time by not examining your body, but today, I won't repeat that mistake. I will send this bullet right into your heart," he fumed.
"You killed Aravind but you cannot kill me."
"I killed Aravind, and I am going to kill you, too. You are caught in my grim hold and you cannot escape from my clutches," Veer said.
"You are trapped this time."
He was surprised to see the room illuminated by lights. His heart skipped a beat the moment he set his glance on the police commissioner who seemed to be hiding when the conversation took place. Some of the other officers were present too. Whipped by the feeling of apprehension, he stammered. His body drenched him in perspiration after being caught red-handed.
"How dare you brush the case under the carpet? How dare you facilitate corrupt practices. We are going felicitate you behind the cells," the commissioner barked.
"Sir, please try to understand. I am innocent. He is the one who murdered Aravind," Veer tried to cook up a story but his luck refused to revive.
"The coincidence is you killed the minister on the night of Ganesha Çhaturthi, and you are red-handedly caught on the night of Ganesha Chaturthi. Ironically, you blamed the Ganesha idol for the murder and the Ganesha idol is returning you a favour now," the commissioner said.
Veer looked at the Ganesha idol standing tall being part of the procession at a distance.
Some years ago:
Veer had to get permission from Aravind for all the work, which irked him to the core. On the night before Ganesha Chaturthi, he gathered guts to ask the minister to support him in the corruption. Aravind, being a sensible minister, denied support and also promised to reveal his true colours to the police commissioner, which would not only have him suspended but also would show him in a bad light. Assaulted by a deep sense of foreboding, he decided to kill the minister by hook or by crook. The only other person who was there with Aravind during their conversation was his secretary, Ramesh. Ramesh was a loner and had no family. Veer killed Ramesh's driver, and then, on the pretext of being the latter's driver, he gained access to the car and then suddenly pounced on him. He bound him with ropes and then took him to a cliff where he pushed him down. On the night of Ganesha Chaturthi, he hid behind the Ganesha idol and then stabbed the minister. He then escaped through the underground. He simply spoke to some people as a part of carrying out an investigation just to pretend that he had put considerable effort into unearthing the truth. He knew things would be forgotten with time. With Aravind out of the equation, it became easier for him to pursue corruption with the support of other ministers. Ramesh went into a coma and was rescued by good Samaritans over there. He was there in a coma for a few years, and eventually, he got his consciousness back. He confided in the truth to the doctors who informed the police commissioner, who in turn asked him to materialize at the palace grounds as a tiger dancer and then run towards the deserted room to make him spew the truth out.
At present:
The police commissioner apprehended the murderer, Veer, and pushed him behind bars. The truth sent shivers down the spine of Aravind's family who couldn't fathom what they just heard. They cursed the police inspector who suspected the family to have played a hand when he himself was the accused. The confined prison subjugated the police power of Aravind.