ACP Abhimanyu’s Most Difficult Case!

Do you remember Professor Arjun Shrivastava, the arch-villain and devious man from “The Tangram Murders” case? Remember, how he was a well-respected professor, but his devious nature and insanity made him reviled, hated and disgraced among the upstanding members of the community he belonged to? When he was taken to court, his appearance was in complete contrast to what he looked like, or what made people fall for his charming looks. He looked haggard, dishevelled and in a trance-like zone. When the court announced its final judgement that he would be incarcerated in a maximum-security prison for the rest of his life, there was hushed silence from the spectators sitting there in the court. He just smiled. Which seemed strange to everyone present as he did not even try to say anything in his defence? Amidst the crowd, someone was sitting who completely worshipped Professor Arjun Shrivastava. This unknown individual was sitting on the last bench in the court and was intently focused on the trial going on in front of him. He was around six feet tall, all muscular, and had an angular and sharp jaw-line.

Due to restrictions, everyone was wearing a mask, as was this anonymous individual, therefore no one could see his eyes, as he was also wearing dark sunglasses in the courtroom. That seemed a bit odd to everybody but he couldn’t less about what anyone thought. Behind those glasses, his eyes burned with grief, sorrow, revenge and general anger towards society. But, nobody could see this because of the glasses. This individual considered Professor Arjun Shrivastava as his mentor, friend, philosopher and guide. And he was angry about how society had treated his ‘guru’. Later on, as the professor was being led on, their eyes met and there was a sudden flash of recognition in the professor’s eyes, but he kept it under control and was led away. This individual, afterwards, in the privacy of his room cried, grieved and punished himself viciously for not being able to do anything for the person he considered his god! A few moments later, after deep thought, he gave a crooked smile and plotted his revenge on all those he considered responsible for this condition of his ‘guru’.

Riddhima Singh was a well-known journalist and television anchor with a successful television company, based out of Delhi. She was much admired and respected for her clean, honest and truthful investigations and reporting. She was pretty too and this was an added advantage as people generally like to see a pleasant face. She was also the one who investigated and exposed the true face of Professor Arjun Shrivastava! She was also the wife of Karan Singh, Senior Inspector Crime Branch Delhi. It was Karan Singh who had helped the then Senior Inspector Abhimanyu Pratap Singh in cracking open “The Tangram Murders” case. Also, Karan and Abhimanyu were buddies and had joined the police force at the same time, and also were in the same batch at the academy. Naturally, Abhimanyu, Karan, Riddhima & Priyanshi were close friends. Remember Priyanshi, from the recent case that ACP Abhimanyu Pratap Singh had solved. Priyanshi was the youngest daughter of Thakur Vikramjeet Singh, an interior designer, also based out of Delhi. She was also Abhimanyu’s fiancée! So the four of them were very close and used to regularly meet up on weekends and social occasions and events.

Anyways, Riddhima was out shopping with a few of her friends in Connaught Place. She was thoroughly enjoying the day, meeting up with people, laughing, and having fun. Little did she know that she was being keenly and closely followed and stalked by somebody! While she was oblivious to this, the unknown stalker was closely observing her every move and managing to stay hidden from their attention!

A few hours later, Riddhima took leave from her friends and proceeded towards her home in Mehrauli. Now, let me tell you, the Singh residence was a bit far from the main road and amidst lush greenery and forested area which came under the Green Belt Territory of the “National Capital Territory”. She reached home dead tired around 8:30 p.m. and went straight for a bath. Afterwards, she planned on having a drink and going straight to bed. The unknown stalker who had been following all this way got an opportunity when he observed that the back porch door was slightly ajar.

Riddhima had played a piece of soft music and was enjoying her bath. I almost forgot to mention that it was raining heavily that day in Delhi, and the Meteorological Department had forecast more heavy rains in the coming days. So, Riddhima was enjoying a long relaxing bath. All of a sudden she had the feeling that someone was watching her from her bedroom! A peculiar kind of uneasiness started building in her stomach. She immediately put on the bathrobe and opened the door to peek whether there was someone there, or if it was her imagination only. The room was empty and dead silent. When she didn’t see anybody she relaxed a bit and went back to her bath. But the uneasiness remained. Ignoring it as a result of tiredness Riddhima finished her bath and came out in her bathrobe only. She then went to the living room and poured herself a drink.

“Oh! What a day it was.”

“Wait till Karan sees what surprise I have for him.” Riddhima ruefully gave a smile to herself with these thoughts. But the uneasiness remained. It was in a while when she went to pour another drink into her glass and turned towards the inviting couch that she saw someone was standing behind her! She was taken aback and the glass slipped from her hand and fell to the ground shattering into pieces. The intruder was wearing a clown mask with an evil grin covering the whole mask!

“Who are you?” Riddhima asked.

“What do you want?” She asked again.

The intruder was just quiet and kept observing her. She was desperately trying to reach for her phone.

“If it is money you want, let me get my bag and you can take as much as you want.” She tried a different tack. But the intruder still was mute.

“Please leave or I will scream and call the police.” She warned.

At this, the intruder gave a hoarse throat laugh. It was like sandpaper grating on metal!

Riddhima now was getting scared and she tried to run. Unfortunately, her feet landed on the broken shards of the glass and they pierced her foot. She screamed in pain and blood started gushing out. The intruder was enjoying all of this and he took out a shiny long knife and started brandishing it.

Riddhima now was scared and started throwing things at the intruder and all the while trying to get away from him. The intruder was unfazed and followed her to her bedroom.

“I just want you to call your husband.” The intruder said in a calm tone.

Riddhima was surprised at the tone but she still didn’t want to call for help as she thought that she might manage.

“He is busy and he is a police officer, you know?” Riddhima tried to intimidate the intruder.

The intruder was losing his patience by now and said “I know that. That’s why I asked you to call him.”

Helpless Riddhima called Senior Inspector Karan Singh who was already on his way back.

“Hello Karan, can you make it a bit faster. I have something important to tell you.” Riddhima said in a calm tone as much as she could manage.

Karan Singh was surprised at the tone of his wife’s voice. Usually, she would be excited and super eager to tell him about some new development or news. However, this time it was a dead flat voice.

“What’s wrong honey?” He asked.

“Nothing is wrong. You just come home a little faster.” She replied in the same deadpan tone.

Although Riddhima was scared and apprehensive about what the intruder might do to her. But she was surprised that he was calmly sitting in front of her on the chair opposite her bed. This time he had a revolver in his hand and was pointing straight at her heart! Riddhima was panicky now. She was 3 months pregnant! She wanted to give this good news to her husband a few days back only but they never got the time!

Meanwhile, Karan Singh was having all kinds of crazy thoughts running through his mind. He attempted once again called his wife.

“Riddhima, what’s the matter sweetheart? Can you at least give me a clue?” He asked.

“Just come home as fast as you can.” Riddhima, in a feigned angry tone, replied.

This was the final tone that led Karan Singh to believe that something was wrong and he rushed for his home. As he reached his house, it was raining more heavily by the time. Somehow he managed to reach the front door which was slightly ajar!

Meanwhile, the intruder and Riddhima both had heard Karan Singh’s car screech to a halt outside.

“Shhhhh......... Be a good girl and don’t make a sound.” The intruder smiling said to Riddhima.

“Please don’t hurt him.” She pleaded.

“If you make a sound then I will hurt him bad. And I will come back to you. You think I don’t know that you are 3 months pregnant?” The intruder warned.

“What do you want from us?” She again pleaded.

“You will know soon enough.” With that, the intruder went downstairs.

As Senior Inspector Karan Singh cautiously, with his service revolver drawn entered his house, he found the living room in pitch-black darkness. This was odd. Thought Karan Singh, as it never happens.

However, he did not go far enough calling his wife’s name “Riddhima.......... Sweetheart where are you darling?” he cautiously asked.

“I am in here. Don’t come in, there is a masked man inside!” Screamed Riddhima from the bedroom.

Before Karan could realize and understand he was hit from behind and fell unconscious on the ground.

A couple of hours later, Karan Singh found himself tied and bound to a chair sitting opposite his wife in their bedroom! He saw that an unknown intruder wearing a clown mask with an evil grin spread across the mask was gently cajoling and caressing his helpless, weeping wife in her bathrobe. There was a revolver pointed straight at his heart.

Before he could say anything the intruder forced a scared, hesitating Riddhima to hold the gun steady in her hands and fired 3 times point-blank at Karan’s stomach and chest! Karan Singh jerked with each bullet striking him. The only thing that restrained him from tumbling down was the ropes which bound him to the chair. Immediately, blood started gushing out in great spurts from bullet wounds and Senior Inspector Karan Singh realized that life was slowly seeping out from him. The only concern at the moment was that nothing should happen to his wife.

Riddhima screamed and started crying. The intruder quietly shushed her and went over to the dying Karan Singh. He untied her and placed the same revolver in his almost lifeless hands and made him shoot Riddhima at point-blank range! She fell back on the back of the head with a bullet hole on her head. Tears were dripping down Karan’s face before losing consciousness. The pitch-black environs were slowly creeping towards him to envelop him in their fold. He could only utter one word “Why................?” “Why..............?”With that, he died.

The intruder waited for a few seconds and made sure that both of them were dead. He then calmly untied Senior Inspector Karan Singh’s body and it tumbled to the floor. He then efficiently and very carefully rubbed all the footprints and fingerprints made by him and exited the house whistling the very same tune that the professor used to make! Nobody could hear the gunshots as it was raining heavily and there were quite a few thunderstorms also!

The next the whole nation and the Delhi Police were shocked and dismayed by the tragic and sensational murders of Senior Inspector Karan Singh and his wife Riddhima Singh. The bodies were discovered by their housemaid, Manju, who had come for her daily routine. The whole Police Department was shocked and was at a loss for words. When ACP Abhimanyu Pratap Singh got to hear the news about his best friend and his wife’s murder, he was aghast! He was too shocked to respond immediately. His mind immediately went back to his friend’s memories and how they had come this far.

After the initial shock, Abhimanyu’s spontaneous question was

“Where is Arjun Shrivastava?”

The police officials and seniors were taken aback by this sudden question.

“He is in his prison cell.” They replied.

“No, he has escaped and he is the one responsible for these murders.” Abhimanyu countered.

They were again surprised that how could he say such a thing with so much finality. Then they realized it was his grief that was making him say such things.

“I want to see him,” Abhimanyu demanded.

At first, they were reluctant but looking at Abhimanyu Pratap Singh’s eyes, they agreed. The first thing he did when he went to the maximum-security unit of Tihar Jail was to ask to see Professor Arjun Shrivastava. Initially, the jail authorities were also reluctant as nobody without high clearance could meet inmates of a high-security prison. When Abhimanyu produced all the necessary documents and permission, they had to allow him.

The first thing ACP Abhimanyu Pratap Singh encountered as he first lay his eyes on Arjun Shrivastava, was that he saw an old, haggard man, with dishevelled hair sitting on the prison cot, reading a book. Abhimanyu Pratap Singh was seething with uncontrolled anger and grief and feeling of revenge for his best friend’s death.

“Ah! ACP Abhimanyu Pratap Singh!” Arjun Shrivastava exclaimed.

“So nice that the great Police Officer has finally visited me. How long has it been, Abhimanyu?” “5 years right?” Arjun sardonically asked.

Abhimanyu was in no mood for chit-chat. So he came straight to the point.

“How did you kill Senior Inspector Karan Singh & his wife Riddhima Singh?”

“Come on ACP! How can you believe that I would be able to kill them as much as I want to?” Arjun asked feigning hurt and disbelief.

“Don’t lie Arjun, I know you have killed both of them. You wanted to take revenge from me.” Abhimanyu was ready to pounce on him but was restrained by the bars and prison officials.

“My My! I am an old man and there is so much security. They take me out in shackles and they are guards all around me. How am I supposed to escape from all of this and murder your friend?” Arjun sarcastically asked.

“Do you know that Riddhima was 3 months pregnant?” Abhimanyu asked.

“Well, I get to read the newspaper. Of course, I knew. What nice little family they would have made!” He again remarked with a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

Abhimanyu could not take it anymore and he tried to break the barrier around him and get his hands on Arjun, but the prison officials prevented him from doing so. Back in headquarters, his senior DCP Balwinder Singh reprimanded for his actions. Abhimanyu kept quiet as he was seething inside.

He called Priyanshi and asked her to be careful. She was also stunned to hear the news and was in much grief. As Riddhima and Priyanshi had become fast friends.

A few days later, Reena, wife of deceased Tejpal Sharma, the advocate was sitting on her balcony when she heard the doorbell ring. She was surprised at who would have come at 10:30 p.m. that night.

She peeped through the keyhole. She could only see a man standing outside her door with a cap drawn tightly around his face, thus making his face impossible to make out. He was also wearing dark glasses at this time of the night!

“Who could it be?” Thought Reena.

As she opened the door to ask, she was shot point-blank in the face. She had a mixed expression of curiosity and apprehension on her face she tumbled backwards falling on the floor dead. The killer just smiled and went away whistling the same tune.

Now, as the news of the latest murder became public, the media and the public started getting worried and concerned. The police were too baffled and they had no leads till now.

Days passed on when the people of Delhi were again in for a surprise. This time as Sumit was crossing the road, he was hit by someone driving a Wagoner at extremely high speed! This latest death was too much for the media and they started sensationalising the killer. “A Crazy Serial Killer with Personal Agenda on the Loose!” This was the headline in every newspaper and television channel. Politicians and the media started building pressure on the police.

DCP Balwinder Singh called ACP Abhimanyu Pratap Singh and asked for updated reports on the investigation.

“Sir, we are trying our best,” Abhimanyu replied.

“We have put our informers at work and also put out feelers to the crime world to come up if they have any information on this matter.”

Balwinder Singh just looked on and said.

“Abhimanyu, I know you were very close to Karan &Riddhima; but don’t let this cloud your judgement.” He said in a softer tone.

“The seniors are putting a lot of pressure on me to get this case solved. They want you off this case as they think that right now you are not in the right frame of mind.” He added politely, considering Abhimanyu’s emotional state at the moment.

Now, Abhimanyu’s meteoric rise in the police department was the stuff of legends. Many were his admirers and well-wishers; there were also a few who were intensely jealous of his quick rise and popularity. DCP Balwinder Singh was one of his few well-wishers and admirers and he was desperately fighting a battle to keep ACP Abhimanyu on this case. As he knew it was Abhimanyu only who could solve this case.

Abhimanyu, on the other hand, though was still reeling from the tragic loss of his friend; still, he tried his best to focus on the case. He regularly met up with informants and very carefully scrutinised the CCTV footage on the days of Reena’s and Sumit’s murders. Though some believed Sumit was the victim of an accident, Abhimanyu knew that it was also murder and to him, there seemed to start emerging a pattern to all these killings. This he found out during interviewing witnesses and through police reports of stolen vehicles. He found out that Wagoner was stolen a day earlier than Sumit’s death. Also, according to the witnesses, the driver had tinted windows, which were banned in Delhi and was driving at an extraordinarily high speed! It seemed that he was either drunk or deliberately wanted to hit Sumit!

Anyways, Abhimanyu, his trusted head constable Yudhveer Singh and the entire police department were hard at work in solving this case and catching the killer. They even appealed to the public that if anyone sees anyone suspicious or strange, they should report to the police. The killer, on the other hand, was enjoying all the attention he was getting and was thoroughly enjoying the frustration of the police as they had no clue. He planned his next move as he was in a different zone now!

As I was saying earlier, ACP Abhimanyu Pratap Singh was able to see a pattern in these killings. It seemed to him that all victims were somehow, or other, related to the victims of Professor Arjun Shrivastava, and his insane desire to create the greatest puzzle of all times. The more he scrutinised the reports of Reena and Sumit’s murders the more convinced he became of this theory. For instance, Reena was the deceased Tejpal Sharma’s wife and Sumit was the fiancé of Tina, the fashion designer, another innocent unfortunate victim of Arjun Shrivastava!

Abhimanyu also believed that all these were copycat killings and the killer was somehow indirectly paying a tribute to the professor and also sending a message to the police and society. That there are people who loved and worshipped Professor Arjun Shrivastava and were in angst against the treatment meted out to such a genius! Also, they were willing to do anything for Professor Arjun Shrivastava! Abhimanyu also went through the video footage on the day of Reena’s murder and saw that the killer was wearing a cap, which was tightly drawn across his head, thus obscuring his face. He was also wearing a dress from a prominent courier company in Delhi!

Also, the witnesses on the day of Sumit’s death had said that though they could not see the driver’s face, however, they could make out that he was wearing a cap on his head, covering half of his face and also wearing the dress of a courier company. Abhimanyu peered through the recording and saw that it was the same dress on both days! This was the breakthrough he wanted. Jubilant but with caution he approached DCP Balwinder Singh and showed his evidence and also presented his theory. At first, the DCP was reluctant to believe but looking at the evidence, he was compelled to rethink on the lines of Abhimanyu’s line of thinking.

“Well Done Abhimanyu. Now go and catch him before he kills anyone else.” DCP Balwinder said.

However, you know, sometimes “Murphy’s Law”, messes up everything and you can’t do anything about it. Unfortunately, the killer was well aware that the police would be able to find out about the copycat theory and tributes to Professor Arjun Shrivastava. So he quickly followed up on his next move before the police can do anything. He found out about the residence of Alok Verma, the unsuccessful defence counsel for Professor Arjun Shrivastava, who desperately tried his best in court. But the killer was not concerned with this. He only saw that the lawyer was unsuccessful in his efforts! So he needed to be taught a lesson. It was a Monday night when Alok Verma had just sat down for dinner with his family when the killer barged open into his residence killing Alok and his wife. It was sheer luck that the children were spared or something changed the killer’s mind and he shushed them to silence. Can you imagine the sheer brutality and gruesomeness of the crime? Seeing your parents die in front of your own eyes is something so terrible and can leave anyone scarred for life. This is exactly the motive of the killer and also to throw the police off his scent!

This latest gruesome double murder had already worsened the already frayed nerves of the public. The media and opposition were baying for blood! Some sections of the society wanted the paramilitary forces put on the ground in the city! Meanwhile, the opposition parties were having a heyday out of all this ever-worsening law& order situation! Furthermore, they wanted the immediate suspension of the entire police force and termination of ACP Abhimanyu Pratap Singh!

Abhimanyu, on the other hand, was baffled at first but enraged at the gruesomeness and brutality of the latest murders. The investigation was still moving at its pace, that is not at all!

When suddenly, one of Abhimanyu’s informers called him and gave him the biggest break in this case.

“Sir, I have come to know of a man who has been frequenting the former Professor's residence and all his former places.” Munna, the informer, said on the phone.

Abhimanyu was being beleaguered by his seniors and was desperately looking for one break when he got the call. He was excited but did not show it.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Sir, this guy is odd. He doesn’t mix with anyone. Only goes to the bar where the professor used to go.” Munna replied.

“Can you send his photograph?” asked Abhimanyu.

“Already sent Sir. Check your phone.” Munna replied.

Abhimanyu was mildly surprised at the intelligence of his informer. Anyways, he checked his phone.

The image he saw of the man was a bit unclear but his facial features could be made out and most important, he was wearing the same courier company dress!

This was the breakthrough Abhimanyu was looking for. He quickly sent the photograph to the databases of all police forces of the states. The result he got back was huge and shocking. It was according to the Calcutta Police Department, this guy’s name was Sujit Sarkar, and he was wanted for armed robbery, theft and fraud back in Calcutta! Abhimanyu then proceeded to get in touch with his family.

What Sujit Sarkar’s family had to say was both alarming and shocking to Abhimanyu. They said that

“Sujit was the odd one out of 4 children they have.” They said over the phone.

They also said that since childhood, Sujit had preferred to remain aloof, and alone and was quite mysterious in his behaviour. He only was interested in solving complex mathematical formulae and was only happy with his quiz boxes and puzzle cubes!

All of this news to Abhimanyu but he could discern a similar pattern to that of Professor Arjun Shrivastava! They also added that he started behaving in rather an odd and mysterious way since the day he attended Professor Arjun Shrivastava’s seminar

in 2005! They had more information to give to Abimanyu. He could feel their pain and grief for their son. Sujit was one of the former students of Professor Arjun Shrivastava! He was an ardent follower and he seemed to worship the professor! This also was added by the parents.

Now, Abhimanyu had all the evidence, proof and photos to match the criminal. He went to his senior DCP Balwinder and explained the whole matter to him. DCP Balwinder was happy that finally the case would be solved.

“What are you waiting for? Go and arrest him!” DCP Balwinder said.

“Yes Sir.” Saluted ACP Abhimanyu and jubilantly assembled his team.

Luckily, they were in time to catch Sujit well ahead of his next planned move. That was to kidnap and torture Priaynshi! It would have been the greatest revenge against ACP Abhimanyu Pratap Singh! ACP Abhimanyu Pratap Singh’s fiancée!

Finally, they were able to nab him but Sujit was too quick for them. He knew his game was up. So as soon as he saw the police approach to arrest him, he started firing upon them. ACP Abhimanyu was quick to respond and shot Sujit 4 times. All of the shots were deadly, still, Sujit lingered on bleeding. He gave a faint laugh and said “You think you have won?”

“But you have lost! You were not able to save all those people. Professor Arjun Shrivastava

is and will remain the greatest.........”

Abhimanyu fired the last fatal shot before Sujit could complete the sentence. This was for his friend.

“What a waste.” Thought ACP Abhimanyu Pratap Singh in disgust and turned away.