CID: THE FIFTH CASE

                              

Note: This story is based on the author’s fiction. It does not apply to any historical references or real-life incidents. It's my first story in the CID franchise to have a female lead, unlike my previous stories in this franchise, where there were male leads as the main protagonist. This story is a sequel to my previous story, CID: The Fourth Case, and a part of CID Verse.

MAY 10, 2023

VIJAYAWADA, ANDHRA PRADESH

There is a very quiet and beautiful town called Vijayawada. All the people in the town were living very happily. It was surrounded by peaceful and beautiful places, which made it a perfect place for raising a family.

There, 29-year-old Nivetha Rao, with her husband Konidela Dharanesh, was living happily with their 19-month-old baby girl, Konidela Induja Rao. Since both of them were working, weekends were the only time when they could relax and have fun with each other.

MAY 12, 2023

On May 12, 2023, at midday on Sunday, Nivetha told her husband: "I am taking our daughter to a shopping centre." I will go and come soon. It won’t be too long. She gave the baby’s diaper bag to her husband before leaving.

At that time, Dharanesh was not at home. He was watching a football match on TV. He also said okay to it and stayed at home. Now Nivetha brought her baby and made her sit in the back of her Volkswagen car. She left from there.

She is going to the shopping centre, which is outside the college and just a short distance from the town of Vijayawada. Now Dharanesh, who was watching TV at home, looked at the time. It was evening at that time. But Nivetha, who left in the afternoon, didn’t return home.

He started to fear that Nivetha and Induja were missing. Dharanesh immediately called Nivetha’s younger sister, Dharshini, and explained everything that happened. Now it’s nighttime. Since she hasn’t come back yet, both of them decided to file a police complaint together that Nivetha is missing.

Immediately SP Archana (from the CID department) came there and started investigating Dharanesh. She asked about the shopping centre that Nivetha went to and went there immediately. That shopping centre is only 15 kilometres away from their house. When Archana went and saw it, they saw Nivetha’s Volkswagen car in the parking lot.

But she and her daughter, Induja, were not there. Archana and the police team checked around, but they were nowhere. When she went there, the only store that was open was the grocery store. Dharshini, Dharanesh, and Archana went inside the shop and looked for her. But they were not there.

"Definitely, there’s something wrong," said Dharanesh.

Everyone started worrying about what happened to Nivetha and 19-month-old Induja. The next day, at noon, a terrible message came to Archana’s police station. Some people who went hiking in the nearby jungle saw the dead body of a girl child and informed the police.

Those hikers, while walking in the trail, walk a little away from the trail, called an embankment (roads on the hilly areas will have a sided area). There is another access road in the forest while walking on the trail; the child’s body was found on the side of the road on a slope. The body of the child was found between the access road and the trail.

When Archana saw this crime scene, she came to the conclusion that someone must have dropped the child from the access road. Although the child’s body is fully dressed, there are some bruises on it. Dharanesh’s brother Anish identified whether it’s their child or not.

He said in tears, "Yes, ma'am." It’s my brother’s daughter, Induja."

Dharshini started crying profusely, asking how they killed a child. Induja’s body has been sent for autopsy, and the causes of death were strangulation and suffocation. The strangers strangled the 19-month-old baby Induja, so that the child died of suffocation.

But Archana and the CID investigators couldn’t find any forensic evidence in the child’s body. Not even a tiny fibre of clothing or hair from someone else was there.

Knowing that the child’s body was found, all the family members and the people in Vijayawada were shocked and heartbroken.

MAY 15, 2023

VIJAYAWADA

Archana thought, "When Nivetha told Dharanesh that she would take the baby and go shopping, he should have gone to look after his baby." Since he didn’t go, she thought that her murder was something related to him.

But when Archana interrogated Dharanesh, he told her, "I have nothing to do with it, madam." "When they went to the store, I gave some biscuits into my daughter’s hands." Her fellow officers verified what he said.

As he mentioned, the officers saw some biscuits in Nivetha’s car's back seat. Although Archana is suspicious of Dharanesh, she verified his statements as true. The officers further verified his whereabouts when his wife went missing. Since the afternoon, his car has been at his house.

The next-door neighbour told Archana. She confirmed that Dharanesh was at home that day. Her police team and CID officers have just found out about Induja. But they still don’t know what happened to Nivetha.

Now, Archana has started searching for Nivetha. She started investigating from different angles.

"Nivetha’s car was in the parking lot. If she and Induja had been kidnapped, they would have been kidnapped from there only. "So were they abducted before they went shopping or abducted when they got into the car after shopping?" Archana started thinking in both of these ways.

Meanwhile, the local motorcycle gang of that area turns out to be there on that day near that shopping centre. Now, Archana started to inquire whether they might have done something to Nivetha and Induja. because Nivetha was very beautiful with black hair.

She and her CID team thought that "Nivetha might be an easy target for them since she came alone with a baby." So the 3500 acres forest where Induja’s body was found, with a large team of helicopter and dogs, the police department started searching. But nothing was found in that place.

At the same time, in the shopping centre, the Archana started questioning the employees.

"Did you see anyone suspicious that day?" "Have you seen any suspicious activities?" But no one said that they had seen Nivetha, Induja, or the motorcycle gang. In that shopping centre, there are two children’s shops. In one of the stores, called Annie’s Sez, the team saw the photos of Nivetha and Induja.

A lady who had come to the shop exactly on that day in the Your Kids and Me store said: "Yes, ma'am." When I paid the bill that day, the time was exactly 3:30. "I have seen them in this shop."

Now Archana looked at the cash register of that shop bill. As they said, there is a purchase bill for Nivetha in the cash register of that shop. But no bill was registered after that. When they saw that lady, it was 3:39 in the afternoon.

Archana at least knew that Nivetha and Induja were still alive until that time, and CID officers confirmed it. The store owner was called to learn what happened.

She asked him, "Did you see a lady and a child?"

He said, "I don’t remember exactly, ma'am." "If I saw a photo once, I could identify them." So they asked him to come to the police station, and he also went there. Now the CID officers showed him the photos of Nivetha and Induja.

When he was seeing that photo, Archana noticed a strange thing. He had full facial makeup. It was very strange to see, and it was like someone else. So Archana gave him a wet paper towel and said, "Hey. "Kindly wipe your face."

He took it in his hand and wiped his face without any other option. Now Archana was shocked to see him. Because after he removed the make-up from his face, they saw nail scratches all around his face.

When Archana asked about the injuries on his face, he said, "I participated in a mosh dance last night, mam." Someone accidentally scratched my face. "So in a dance like that, it’s normal to get these types of scratches."

Mosh dance is very popular. (A group of people throw each other, beat each other, and dance.)

Your kids and mine were owned by a lady named Maria Sebastian. Archana contacted her first. But she said, "Madam." "My 22-year-old son Joseph was in the shop that Sunday." So he came to the police station for an investigation.

May 16, 2023 to May 18, 2023

Vijayawada Crime Division

Now Archana has checked Joseph’s background and searched for any other criminal history. But nothing was there. However, in 2018, when he was walking on the road, he misbehaved with a girl, and a sexual harassment record has been made.

When Archana’s team inquired about Joseph in school, his friends said, "Joseph is a very strange person, ma'am." "He will always be alone." Pausing a little, his friends continued: "Madam. "He was very interested in vampires."

Now, Archana’s team immediately started searching Joseph’s home. After the search, her team came to meet her.

"What Abilash? "Did you find anything suspicious in Joseph’s house?"

"Yes Archana." He kept a sexual device and sex books on her table.

"What is this man?" Archana tapped the table and asked Abilash, to which he replied, "Archana. Joseph is a crooked guy. "He had a sex device and sex books everywhere and spent most of his time reading pornography books and playing fantasy games."

Keeping another photo of Joseph’s, he continued to tell her: "Archana. "Have a look at this photo."

As she looked at the photo, Abilash said: "Because of his high interest in vampires, he dressed himself like a vampire, Archana." "In his vampire t-shirt, there is a photo of a vampire seducing a woman, and that image of the girl in that t-shirt was similar to Nivetha’s image."

In the interrogation cell, Archana asked Joseph about his involvement in this case. But he said, "Madam." "I have nothing to do with it." Now, the forensic team came in. They went inside the shop and started to search for other clues. But there was no sign that a problem had occurred in that shop.

However, on Sunday when the incident happened, the next-door shoppers said, "We saw someone cleaning the store that day." The investigators immediately checked the vacuum cleaner at the store. When they checked it, they saw long hairs inside it, and that too was plucked hair.

"It didn’t fall down naturally." It was forcefully plucked. However, we cannot find out whether it was Nivetha’s or not without her. Abilash said to the investigators: He scanned the shop’s carpet with an ultraviolet light to find other clues.

(Through this, it will be known whether there are any body fluids or other substances or stains.)

When they were looking at that, Abilash saw some suspicious stains at the back of that shop. It turns out to be the saliva of a 19-month-old girl named Induja. He found some more stains in the carpet and came to know that it was semen, and when the forensics tested it, it was confirmed that it was Joseph’s.

"Archana. Even if they found such evidence, it’s not a sexual crime. There is no strong or physical evidence to suggest that Nivetha was in the store. "To match the hair from the vacuum, she must be found."

"But we didn’t know where she was, Abilash!"

Looking deeply, Abilash said to Archana, "Look. If we don’t find out what Nivetha means, we cannot do anything with the available evidence. That’s all I can say to you. Rest all is up to your decision."

Now, Archana and Abilash started confronting Joseph with the available evidence. Then something shocking happened.

"I know where Nivetha is!" said Joseph. Hearing this, Archana felt happier and asked him, "Are you telling the truth?"

"I myself will take you and your team there." But one condition!" said Joseph

"What’s that?"  

"You should not give me the death penalty." "If you agree to this deal, I will take you to the place where Nivetha is." She and the prosecution side said OK to this, and the documents were signed.

Now Joseph took Archana, Abilash, and the investigators to the forest next to an industrial area near the store. At that place, Nivetha’s body was found naked with her legs spread and her hair covering her face. There was a bra on her body. Her fingers told her what had happened that day. since some of her fingernails were broken.

Archana sent her body for an autopsy. The doctor came to her and said, "Mam. The victim, Nivetha Rao, was strangled to death. "She was injured in many places, and her chest bone was broken."

At the same time, the hair from the store’s vacuum was compared to Nivetha’s hair. It turns out that both are the same. Finally, the biological materials from Nivetha’s nails, that is, the skin cells, are tested for DNA.

(No matter what the case is. They first test the victim’s fingernails. There’s a 99% chance of the killer’s skin cells being there.)

When they checked it, the skin cell inside Nivetha’s fingernails was confirmed to be Joseph’s. Now Joseph had been arrested by Archana for double murder.

She beats him up brutally inside the interrogation room to tell what happened on that day. Unable to bear the pain from the beating, he confessed what happened on the day of that incident.

MAY 12, 2023

Joseph was drowning in a fantasy world. When he was working in the shop, he saw Nivetha coming to the store with her baby, Induja. There was a lady getting her last bill, and she also saw her.

After that lady got the bill, Joseph noted that there was no one else in the shop except Nivetha and her child. Looking at Nivetha’s figure, which was exactly like my fantasy world picture, he thought of getting her immediately. So he went ahead and locked the door of that shop.

After that, at the back of the shop, Joseph attacked her from behind when Nivetha was looking at dresses.

The place was covered fully with clothes. So even if you look at the shop from the street, you don’t know what is going on inside.

As she was not expecting this, she started fighting hard for her and her child’s lives. That’s when Nivetha scratched his face with her nails. In anger, Joseph started beating her, and in that act, her chest bone was broken. Apart from that, she had many injuries on her body.

After that, Joseph began to remove her clothes completely. Dragging her, he had sex with her forcibly (that’s when his semen was transferred to the carpet). Then he strangled her neck, and she died shortly after. 

After raping Nivetha, he strangled 19-month-old Induja and murdered her. That’s when the child’s saliva was transferred to the carpet. Then, Joseph strangled a heartbroken Nivetha, and she shortly died. After that, he cleaned the place with a vacuum cleaner and took the bodies of Nivetha and the baby.

Joseph came out of the store through the back door. He put them in his car and went to the nearby forest. While driving like that, he threw away the child’s body. After that, he went to the forest next to the industrial area and put her body there with the legs spread and putted her hair on the face.

PRESENT

"I thought that I had destroyed all the evidence and no one could catch me anymore." And then I left the place." Joseph confessed to Archana, who’s been listening with little tears in her eyes.

"But you don’t know that the forensic department is still there, Joseph, and this is their job." Anyhow, they will find you." Abilash said to him. But he became silent when Archana looked at him in vexation.

Now, Joseph has been given a double life sentence for the double murder by the Andhra court. While taking him in the police van, Archana asked the driver to shift the van to the forest area, where Nivetha was raped and killed by Joseph. Removing his handcuffs, Archana asked him to run into the forest.

Abilash asked her, "What are you doing, Archana?"

When he was asking that question, she shot his left arm and hit the driver’s head with her gun. Closing her eyes, she recalled the crime scene of Nivetha and her horrible death. Then, she pointed her gun towards Joseph’s head in the dark forest when he was running.

Joseph realised that he had been shot in his spine while running half way. As he fell down in the middle of the forest, Archana came near to him.

"You bloody cheat!"

Pointing her gun at his head, she said, "Who’s cheating da bullshit?" You're the kind of man who believes in fantasy worlds. You all will use us for your sexual pleasures and lust. Then, he will go to the extent of killing. Seeing all that, we women must be silent. "Is that right?"

Joseph looked at her in fear. Then, she added, "I can kill you even now and close this case as an encounter for self-defense." But you must live a paralysed life. "You should die day by day for raping Nivetha as well as for killing that 19-month-old baby." Despite Joseph’s beg to kill him, she spares him.

A FEW DAYS LATER

MAY 20, 2023

After receiving the proper treatment for his wound in the spine, Joseph had been sent to the prison with a wheel chair.

In the meantime, Abilash asked Archana, "Why did you spare him, Archana?"

"If we kill him, then he will easily die." He won’t realise Nivetha’s pain. "But in this paralysed state, with a person to serve for his very basic needs, he will understand the pains and sufferings of a woman." After hearing this, Abilash smiled at her.

While speaking with him, Archana received a call from Rishi Khanna.

"Yeah Rishi."

"Archana. "I, Tejas, and Abinesh will come to duty by 10:0 AM."

"Actually, you were all transferred to Hyderabad, right?"

"Yes. But, DCP Dinesh changed our place in the last minute.

"Okay Rishi. Come soon. "I am waiting for you three." Now she turned to Abilash and said, "Okay, Abilash. I have a small job. So, I’ll go to my cabin and finish it off."

As she was going inside the cabin, he called her and said, "Archana." Not all men are bad. Women are also equally bad as men. Kindly change your perspective." She smiled at him and said, "I already changed my viewpoint when I read Anjali’s and Esther’s case histories (for reference, see CID: The Third Case and CID: The Fourth Case)."

EPILOGUE

Women who are reading this story should be careful about what is happening around them. Inside a shop or a shopping centre, I realised that this type of accident can happen in the middle of the day. So this kind of thing can happen anywhere. There is definitely a chance for that. So, definitely, girls who are reading this story should keep an eye on what is happening. If you realise that there is no one in the shop, we can come out.

The things that dead Nivetha and Induja couldn’t say, their hair, DNA, and saliva said. So, Readers. What do you think about this case?

CID: THE SIXTH CASE—TO BE CONTINUED