CID: THE FIRST CASE

NOTE OF DISCLAIMER: For some violence and intense sequences in the story, it needs parental guidance...This story is loosely based on Swathi Murder Case.

Since the time have become 8:00, the blue looking sky slowly turned darker. Vehicles like car and bus in the roads have reduced. Near to the seashore of Marina Beach in Chennai, Harish sits ablaze in blue sweaters with a thick moustache sits ablaze thinking about something. His height would be maximum of 6 feet, weight rounds around 60 kilograms. He looks strong with a white face.

His eyes is blue and he wears a wrist watch in his left hand. Near to him, another 5-feet taller guy named Deepak is sitting holding him gaze. He asked him, "What happened da? You told me to come here for talking. Two hours have gone. Still you are not talking anything. Any problems?"

Then, the guy looks at him and tells, "Yes Deepak. There's a problem. That's why I have called you."

With a doubtful mindset, Deepak again continues to ask: "A few doubts remained at the back of my mind, Harish."

After a pause, Harish continues to reply him: "You have doubts. While, I have grief. Because, one failure for the first time had a huge impact."

Deepak is dumb-stricken. He now asked him: "I see, what you mean?"

"We are in a situation where there are no winners. I have been caught between a rock and a hard place." Harish replied him.

Deepak now understood, what Harish tried to convey him. He then asked him: "Have you completed this case da?"

"No. It's still on progress. Because, I haven't yet reached my goal." Harish said.

"I think you're barking up the wrong tree, Harish." Deepak said in a rough voice and seemed to be little anger.

"No Deepak. I was in the right path of direction. The turn was actually unexpected." Harish said and he continues telling him, what actually happened before a four weeks ago.

FOUR WEEKS AGO:

Four weeks ago, Harish was working as the Assistant Commissioner of Police in Chennai Criminal Investigation Department(CID). Harish is known for his way of solving the case. Because, he is very smart, sharp and solved several complicated and crucial cases using his presence of mind. Because, he always had the ability to capture the smallest details, which earned the trust of his Senior Police Officer JCP Vasanthan James IPS.

Harish is accompanied by Inspector Ram and Forensic Officer Nivisha. In most of his cases, they accompanied him. Nivisha and Harish love each other for three years. Their marriage also have been fixed, before some days ago.

Harish suffers from Attention Deficit Disorder(ADHD). He suffered this disorder due to a malfunction in his brain, a few days before. The malfunction happened, due to an injury by a criminal before a few days ago. Due to this disorder, he had been forced to take up medicines, been suggested by the doctors. Because, the medicines would control his distraction behavior. However, he refused to take the medical suggestions. Because, he feared that these medicines would slow down his abilities and qualities.

Meanwhile, an Infosys employee S.Keerthi was murdered on June 24, 2018 near to the Nungambakkam Railway Station in Chennai while she is on her way to the office. Keerthi was murdered in front of several people, with passengers remaining mute spectators. She is the daughter of Ramakrishnan. He is a retired employee of ESIC, the health insurance company of the Indian government.

AT PRESENT:

"Harish. Everything seems to go fine. But, the murder which you told seemed confusing. Please let me know this clearly." Deepak said.

"I told that, an Infosys employee S.Keerthi was murdered on June 24, 2018 near to the Nungambakkam Railway Station in Chennai while she is on her way to the office. Keerthi was murdered in front of several people, with passengers remaining mute spectators." Harish said.

"In front of several people ah? How come that's possible da? In a Railway Station, there would be coffee shop, ticket countering, CCTV footage. Crossing all these things, how can a murderer could enter and kill?" Deepak asked out of curiosity.

KEERTHI MURDER CASE:

Indeed, this murder seemed to be curious for Harish. He went to the scene of crime. There, Harish saw Keerthi lying dead in the floor, with her mouth been cut severely. Her body is sent for post mortem. On the other flip, public and the media is very anger against this brutal murder. Public pressures make the Police Department tensed. Because, the Railway police is not progressing the case with their efficiency and intelligence. As per the orders from Madras High Court, the case gets transferred to City police.

Harish meanwhile, decides to take a break from his work in order to take medication for his disorder. However as he was about to plan this, JCP Vasanthan calls him through the phone.

"Harish. I wanted to meet you in the office. Where are you now?" James asked him, with a commanding voice.

"I would come by ten minutes sir." Harish said and goes to meet him.

After saluting him with the hands, Harish asked him: "Yes sir. Anything important you wanted to talk with me sir?"

"Yes Harish. About that murder case only. Public pressures are heavy. DGP Rajagopal sir have asked to proceed with this case and finish it as soon as possible." JCP Vasanthan said him, in a middling tone of voice.

"Sir. What should I do now?" Harish asked him, with a grimming face.

"I want you to investigate this case. You have all freedoms as usual. You can do your own style of Investigation. But, please don't create troubles." Vasanthan said him.

Harish agrees and takes a leave from the office. He postpones his medical treatment for a few days in order to investigate this case in further, with the help of Nivisha and Ram.

Harish goes to meet one of Keerthi's close friend Sidhu in order to investigate about her death. His house is quite simpler. He is staying along with his three company friends and is working in a IT sector.

Harish and Nivisha sits near to Sidhu and asked him: "Harish. I heard from your college that, you and Keerthi studied together in the same Engineering college. You both were close too."

"Yes sir. We both were close friends. We both completed a bachelor's degree in computer science at Dhanalakshmi College of Engineering in 2014, taking a course in Oracle in Anna University the same year. After being selected for a job at Infosys, she underwent training in Mysore and received a job as a System Engineer." Sidhu said to him.

"Ok. How is her character as per your views?" Ram asked him.

"She is always friendly to everyone sir. Never behaved harsh to anyone." Sidhu said.

"Did you contact her a few days ago?" Harish asked him.

"No sir. After being selected for a job at Infosys, she underwent training in Mysore and from that time, we didn't speak due to workloads." Sidhu said.

"Ok Sidhu. Thanks for your cooperation. Meet you soon. Bye." Harish said, tapping Sidhu's soldiers and proceeds to go out with Nivisha and Ram back to his office.

Afterwards, Keerthi's post mortem report comes to the table of Harish, as per his orders. Upon examining the reports, Harish comes to know that, the sickle which was used to attack Keerthi was very powerful. As per the guess of the Forensic reporter, the sickle is used for Agricultural activities, owing to its sharpness.

Enraged with this report, Harish decides to speed up the investigation. However, a very few days later: Harish faints down due to the mental stress. As per the advice of doctors, he eventually backdrops from the case and takes a break for two months.

Henceforth, this case is eventually handed to Commissioner Joseph Krishna IPS. The case goes in a smooth way on one side. On the other side, Harish goes for treatment to Bangalore, being accompanied by Nivisha. He takes up proper medication, attends counselling and Ayurveda treatments. After getting cured, he returns back to Chennai.

Then, Harish and Nivisha meets JCP Vasanthan, who invites them warmly. Harish rejoins in CID department. From Ram, he learns that Keerthi's case got solved. Shocked and surprised, Harish asked him: "How is it possible Ram? There were lots and lots of complications, right?"

"The case history is detailed in this file, sir!" Ram said.

Harish starts to see the file of Keerthi Murder Case. In that file, he starts to read the case study in his mind: "P. Ramkumar was born in Meenakshipuram, a small village in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. His father, Paramasivam, was an employee of the telecommunications company BSNL, and his mother, Pushpam, was an agricultural worker. Ramkumar dropped out of a government school in 2011, and received a degree in mechanical engineering in 2015, though he found difficulty receiving employment. Ramkumar and Keerthi were Facebook friends, and they had previously exchanged phone numbers. A police officer stated that Ramkumar had stalked Keerthi on Facebook, and monitored her movements offline. Seeking employment in the film industry and an opportunity to be closer to Keerthi, he took residence in Choolaimedu, a locality of Chennai. Acquaintances characterized Ramkumar as largely solitary; some residents of Meenakshipuram said he was "friendless." On September 18, 2016, Ramkumar, allegedly committed suicide by electrocuting himself in his cell at the Puzhal central prison in Chennai. Police have claimed that the accused died after biting a live electric wire."

"P.Ramkumar died?" Harish asked to Ram.

"Yes sir. He died by committing suicide." Ram said. The news has hit Harish hard. It creates a huge impact in his mind.

"There's no point in your words, Ram. How could he be able to commit suicide when he is in the custody of the Police? Here Something is suspicious." Harish said.

Ram is unable to give any answers. Henceforth, Harish goes straight to the Railway Station CCTV footage site. There, he asked the officers to showcase the footage prints of June 24, 2016 telling him as the CID officer of Nungambakkam.

He sees the murder of Keerthi by a dark looking and 6-feet tall guy, with a sickle in his hand, with a dark looking face. Since, the CCTV footage was not working properly during that particular date, his face was not captured that easier.

Ramkumar was 5-feet taller and not 6-feet. This further creates suspicion in the minds of Harish. Reports told that Ramkumar ran away from the place after 30 minutes away from the crime scene. However, he looked cool and not seemed to be anger in the other CCTV footage, which showcased his photo.

While the murderer, who killed Keerthi looked gory, anger and violent. Harish then meets another friend of Keerthi.

KEERTHI FAMILY BACKGROUND:

Through her, he learns that Keerthi's father had two wives. He is an orthodox brahmin. Keerthi's mother died due to health ailments, after her birth in a few days. Her stepmother and family raised her up with her father, as a full support.

Her stepmother hates Keerthi and wished to enjoy the property earned by Ramakrishnan. Keerthi was in love with another caste guy Sekhar Pillai, her colleague from Tirunelveli. This was opposed severely by her family.

As she refused to obey their words, she gets disowned by her family. Then, she searched for employment and got herself stronger in terms of financial background.

She decided to marry Shekar Pillai, which irked her family.

"Did she met her father afterwards?" Harish asked her.

"No sir. They didn't even communicate each other for several days. I didn't care about that too sir. But I was worried that, he didn't cry for his daughter's death." She said him.

"That's natural only, right. Men won't showcase their sadness or upset mindset to all frankly." Harish said her.

"No sir. He looked casual in the crime scene. Even when the police instigated him about Keerthi he answered them in a cool-manner. That's why I got suspicious." The girl tells him, with a strong mindset.

"Hmm...Are you sure?" Harish asked her.

"I am sure sir. I noted this clearly." The girl said.

Harish now, returns to his house. There, he prepares a note. In this, he names JCP Vasanthan as Pawn, Commissioner Jospeh as Bishop and Ramakrishnan as the king. He recalls the words of Keerthi's friend about Ramakrishnan and unfolds several other of his investigations into this, hoping that he could be able to find some answers.

But, it's very very tough. Because, his mind says that: Either Ramakrishnan or Keerthi's own lover. He is now puzzled and confused, not knowing how to solve this mystery further.

BACK TO PRESENT:

"In the end, what did you do da? Did you solve this case or your own department closed this case by framing Ramkumar as the murderer ah?" Deepak asked him.

"I don't have a clear answer to this question da, Deepak." Harish said to him.

"Atleast try to answer this question da. What about your views? Did you find out who murdered Keerthi?" Deepak asked him, with curiosity.

"Yes da. I had found out who was that murderer. But, there's no use." Harish said.

"Why da? Why are you telling like such?" Deepak asked him.

He reveals how did he found out Keerthi's murderer.

KEERTHI'S MURDERER:

Harish reconsidered the words of Keerthi's friends. Henceforth, he goes with Ram and Nivisha to Keerthi's father Ramakrishnan's house during the midnight, exactly at 3:30 PM. Using their smartness and intelligence, they managed to fool the security guard(who was sleeping) by spraying him with unconsciousness medicine. They grabs the house key from him.

Silently, they entered into the house of Ramakrishnan. It's a benefit for them. Since, Ramakrishnan have gone away for a travel trip along with his family. Harish and Nivisha finds Ramakrishnan's personal laptop and a computer in his room.

They switched on the computer and laptop. Initially, they thought that it would have got secured with password and fears to open it. However, to their luck neither the computer nor the laptop have got secured with passwords.

In the computer, Harish notes down the photo of a local henchman with Ramakrishnan. His height, weight and the looks matched exactly with the CCTV footages(which showcased the murderer) from the Nungambakkam Railway Station.

Their location seems to be in a secluded place near to Kotturpuram slum area. With the address found, Harish goes along with Ram and Nivisha to the henchman house. Before going from Ramakrishnan's house, he safely ensures that there's no clue left behind the investigation done by them. He cleverly clears up the scene and places the key as such, in the pocket of the security guard.

There, Harish ties him up to a chair and gives him severe beatings.

"Tell the truth da. How you know Ramakrishnan?" Harish asked him.

"Sir. If you give him beatings, he won't reveal the truth. Because, he is a well-build henchman." Inspector Ram said to him, with a angry raise of voice.

"Hence, we should inject a poisonous gas in his hand. So that he would unveil the truth." Nivisha said to Harish and she takes the injection in her hands.

He goes near to the henchman in order to inject him. That guy looks at her gladly. He tells, "Ramakrishna met me for giving a contract. For that, he gave me Fifty crores."

"What was that contract da?" Harish asked him.

"He told me to murder his daughter Keerthi. Because, she wanted to do inter-caste marriage against his wishes. In order to safeguard his honour and reputation, he ordered me to kill her. For the sake of money, I killed her brutally with a sickle, that's been used for agricultural activities." The henchman said, with his eyes showing a lots of fears.

Meanwhile, JCP Vasanthan learns about the investigations led by Harish regarding Keerthi's murder. Knowing that, he is instigating the henchman, Vasanthan calls him and orders Ram to release the henchman. Threatened and feared to the his loss of job, Ram releases him.

Vasanthan calls for a personal meeting with Harish in the Marina beach. There, he asked him: "Hence, you have found out who was the murderer right?"

"I have indeed, found out who murdered Keerthi sir. But, what's the use! Our own police department is aiding the murderer." Harish said, looking at him.

"I know that you are angry with me Harish. I am helpless in this situation. You know. Her father is a bigwig in this society. And there were political pressures to stop investigating this case. We are under the control of government. What could we do? We have to obey their orders. Infact, that politician is a brahmin and a close family friend for Ramakrishnan. That's why, he escaped the law easily." James Vasanthan explained to Harish, about his helpless situation and the politics, that was involved in this case.

"Ok sir. Anyways there's no use in investigating or finding the clues. I think it's time for me to get transferred from here. Your DGP have transferred me to Hyderabad. A message came for me just now. See you soon sir." Harish said and he showed his transfer order through his phone.

James Vasanthan and Harish saw each other at once and he leaves from the place finally. Then, Harish called his friend Asst.Commissioner Deepak(under Crime Branch of Hyderabad. He had come to Chennai for a two days leave.) asking him to come for the Marina Beach in order to meet.

BACK TO PRESENT:

"Finally, what are you coming to say da, Harish?" Deepak asked him, with a shower of laughter.

"As per the public, this case is closed and they believes Ramkumar as the murderer. But, according to our police department and the politicians, we know that Ramakrishnan is the murderer." Harish said.

"You come to say that, the case is closed as per the views of public. But, it remains unclosed in our police department. Am I right?" Deepak asked him.

"You are right Deepak. Whatever happens, justice prevails in the end. But, it takes time." Harish said. After they looked for a while, Harish continues: "Ok Deepak. Let's end the talk of this case. Because, tomorrow I am joining in the CID office of Hyderabad. You have to take me there in your car."

Harish then, calls Nivisha and asks her to come near to the Marina Beach. Since, he have to take her in the car, back to Hyderabad. Additionally, he informs her about his transfer.

"Why are you transferred da?" Nivisha asked him.

"To investigate the next case, as a CID officer." Harish said and he hangs the call. Then, he goes along with Deepak from the beach by holding his hands.