Death Of An Autocrat

Thakur Vikramjeet Singh Rathore was getting irritated and shouted at his man-servant, Bahadur Singh.

“Bahadur, get me my drink.”

It was a Thursday evening and around every Thursday, at around 6:00 P.M. Thakur Vikramjeet Singh had a special drinking session watching his favourite television show. Though he used to drink every day Thursdays used to be very special for him as had been the custom in his family for generations. Thakur Vikramjeet Singh Rathore belonged to an aristocratic lineage, was an ex-bureaucrat, businessman, and also an ex-politician, and was a very influential man. His residence was a palatial bungalow right in the middle of the posh area of Udaipur, Rajasthan. His family consisted of his wife Rukmini Devi, who was an architect, his three sons, Ajay, Vijay, and Karan, and two daughters Anjali & Priyanshi. Ajay, being the eldest was married with two children and a wife Kamia, who was an advocate. Vijay and Anjali were also married and stayed with their respective families at their father’s residence only. Only Karan, who was the youngest, and Priyanshi were single members of the family. Some people also whispered in hushed tones that many people feared him, as he was privy to many dirty little secrets of influential people in politics and business. He also had a bad heart condition. Only his family, his servant, secretary, and the family doctor knew of this.

It was at times like these when he was most vulnerable. Otherwise, he maintained and displayed that domineering and overbearing attitude with everybody!

“How long is it going to take to bring one drink for me, you idiot?” Bellowed Vikramjeet Singh.

Bahadur Singh frantically scurried to get him his drink. He was used to all this screaming and shouting as he and his predecessors have been serving the Rathore family for generations. Thakur Vikramjeet Singh Rathore was filthy rich and he commanded a huge following in his area also some say, he had very powerful political, and business connections in some of the biggest business families and at the center too! He still commanded the same respect as he had when he was the ‘Growth& Urban Development Minister’ in the previous government. All this was good but a majority of the people who were in contact with him went away with the impression of him being an autocrat, who was used to having his way in everything he did or said. Others, including his trusted secretary for more than thirty years, Veerbhadra Singh, also believed that he was like this all the time; that is whether he was in a professional environment or personal! Even his family members, especially, his wife, Rukmini wholeheartedly agreed to this. Despite being an architect, she had been restricted to domestic chores and upbringing the children. Also, she used to be dominated and overwhelmed by her husband and she sometimes used to have panic attacks! Vikramjeet Singh used to dismiss these incidents considering them a sign of weakness! Vikramjeet Singh was used to getting his way and disliked people who did not conform to his way of thinking.

Anyways, as he was enjoying his drink, Rukmini, along with her elder son Ajay, came to his study to discuss a business proposal that Ajay had brought forward. This business deal with the present government would be beneficial for all of the parties. That was what Ajay believed and was excited and nervous at the same time. So he sought the help of his mother in convincing Vikramjeet Singh to permit him to meet the business delegation coming the next day.

“Vicky, can we talk?” Rukmini nervously asked.

It was only his wife and very few close friends who could call him by his pet name.

“What is it?” He asked.

“It’s about tomorrow’s meeting.” His wife said.

“Don’t you know I am busy today?” He glared.

“I know but this was important.” Rukmini persisted.

“ I don’t care!.... When I have said I am busy that’s the end of discussion.” He growled.

“Anyways I will be the one who will be handling the matter. It is I that will decide who does what, when, and how.” He remarked.

Rukmini kept quiet for a few moments and then said “At least hear Ajay out.”

“He has exceptionally brilliant ideas about tomorrow.” She said in anticipation.

“Don’t you understand? .........”

“When I have said that I will decide and why hasn’t he come and pitched his idea himself?” Vikramjeet asked with a smirk on his face.

His wife understood perfectly the meaning of this statement and it was very demeaning for her, still, she tried one last time for her son.

“He was a bit nervous coming in front of you.” She said softly.

“Don’t disturb me now and please leave,” Vikramjeet commanded.

That was the last anyone heard or saw Vikramjeet alive.

Meanwhile, Rukmini then gave the news to Ajay, he was disappointed and was crestfallen as he was expecting a positive response and was very excited about it.

“I wish the old man drops dead!” He blurted out exasperatedly.

His mother was stunned and shocked to hear this and looked at him admonishingly. He quickly realized his mistake and apologized. Unbeknownst to them, someone had overheard their conversation and would set in motion a chain of events that would leave a deep impact on the Rathore family!

An hour later, Rukmini trepidatiously again went into her husband’s study to ask for something else. She knew he would scream at her again but she chose to bear the ranting and tirade against her. She neared the rocking chair where Vikramjeet was sitting, she saw the television was on mute and Vikramjeet was sleeping peacefully rolled to one side on the chair. He used to cover himself with a light shawl every time he went to watch his favourite television show, as it was very cold in the study due to the high-performance air conditioner. So she thought that he must have felt cold and wrapped it around himself.

“Vicky I need to talk to you about something else.” She ventured nervously.

There was no response.

She again tried “Vicky are you listening to me?” Still no response.

Rukmini was taken aback at the lack of response and she thought she should shake him a little bit. 

Rukmini screamed and called her family immediately.

Everyone rushed and was stunned and shocked to see Thakur Vikramjeet Singh Rathore lying dead on his rocking chair! It took a few minutes to process for everybody before the situation going in into a bedlam of actions like panic, crying, shock, and a frantic rush to call the police. When the police were informed about the murder the first reaction that came from Senior Inspector Abhimanyu Pratap Singh was “Wow! Just like in the Bollywood movies, a royal murder!” He exclaimed.

All of you remember Abhimanyu Pratap Singh right?

After a long and thorough career of successful investigations and putting criminals behind bars. Abhimanyu Pratap Singh was promoted to Senior Inspector and transferred to Udaipur. He was further taken aback when he witnessed the grandeur and opulence of the Rathore family. The first thing he saw as he entered the murder spot was that all of the family members were present there, the boys standing erect and grim, while the womenfolk were on the ground and weeping relentlessly, including the daughters. The servants and the secretary all were standing at one side ashen-faced and grieving. Only Rukmini Devi was a person that was stoic and silent in all of this. She just kept on staring at her dead husband’s body.

This seemed a bit odd and unsettling to Abhimanyu Pratap Singh, but he quickly ignored his emotions.

“Get a crime scene team and forensics team out here.” He started bellowing instructions immediately.

“Get the non-essential people out of here. Establish a cordon here.” He kept on instructing his juniors who were scurrying here and there following his orders to the ‘T’!

Then he started the process of investigation.

“Who saw the body first?”

“Our Mother did,” Ajay answered pointing to his mother Rukmini Devi, who was still staring at her dead husband.

“When did you see him?” Abhimanyu asked in a soft voice.

Rukmini seemed not to hear and kept on staring at the body. Abhimanyu repeated the question once again.

“Excuse ma’am, I am very sorry for your loss but I need to ask some questions.”

“So kindly co-operate.” He added.

“Can’t you see that mother is in a state of shock?” Blurted out Karan, the youngest son.

“Who are you?” Abhimanyu asked.

“My name is Karan Singh Rathore and I am the youngest son of Vikramjeet Singh Rathore,” Karan replied with a bit of arrogance and grief in his tone.

“With all due respect, my question still stands. Who saw the body first and what time was it?” Abhimanyu asked unperturbed.

“It was around 9:15 P.M.” Ajay responded.

“When was the last time he was seen alive and by whom?” Abhimanyu asked.

“It was around 6:30 P.M. when our mother went to talk to him about something,” Ajay replied solemnly.

All this while Rukmini Devi was staring at her husband’s body but her mind was on the conversation that was going on around her.

“Were you there with her?”

“No, I was standing outside the room.”

“What were they talking about?” Abhimanyu asked.

“That’s a family matter,” Ajay responded taking offense.

“Were they screaming?” Abhimanyu asked ignoring the offense.

“Not at the beginning but father shouted a bit on our mother after some time,” Ajay responded.

“Okay. Thank You. We will require your further cooperation in the future.” Abhimanyu said ending the conversation. One thing he noticed was Ajay was fidgeting a lot and seemed not with himself. It seemed strange to Abhimanyu but he let it go because of the tragedy. He next called Vijay, the second son.

“Where were you at the time of death?”

“I was with my wife.” He said.

“What did you do when you heard the news?” Abhimanyu asked.

“I came rushing like everybody else.” Vijay was quick to answer. Abhimanyu could notice a slight flicker of hesitation in his eyes before answering.

“What was the first thing you saw when you entered the room?” Abhimanyu asked looking straight at Vijay’s eyes.

“I saw our mother sitting on the floor beside our father’s body and others were trying to grasp what had happened,” Vijay responded taking some time.

He then called the youngest son Karan Singh Rathore.

He could make out by his demeanor that Karan seemed less affected by his father’s death than by how his mother was behaving.

“Where were you, Mr. Karan Singh Rathore?” He asked.

“I was out in an official meeting.” He replied.

“When did you hear of this news?”

“At around 9:19 P.M.” He replied.

“How are you so sure of the time?” Abhimanyu asked.

“Because I looked at the watch when I got the news,” Karan replied.

“Okay then. You can go but please don’t leave the city he said. This goes for all of you.” He looked at all those who were present in the room.

He then decided to question the daughters of the Rathore family.

“Where were you at the time? He asked Anjali.

“I was looking after my little girl. She is sick you know. My husband is also out of town.” She replied.

He then asked Priyanshi the same question.

“I was in my room working on a project. I am an interior designer you know.” She said in-between sobs.

Inspector Abhimanyu Pratap Singh then started questioning the domestic staff and his private secretary. In most of the question-answer sessions, he could make out that the majority of the servants were too afraid of their master and kept to themselves only. It was only Bahadur and Veerbhadra Singh who were close amongst the lot.

“Bahadur where were you? Abhimanyu asked.

“I was in my quarters' sahib. I did not come to the master’s room after I had made him his favourite drink.” He added.

“At what time did you make him his drink?” Abhimanyu asked.

“At around 6:00 P.M.”

Abhimanyu then turned toward Veerbhadra Singh and asked the same set of questions. To which he got the standard set of replies, which was expected at the time. It was getting late and he decided to call off the questioning and visit the next day.

The next day was a Friday, and the Rathore family was busy with funeral arrangements. Word had spread very quickly about Thakur Vikramjeet Singh Rathore’s murder and hundreds of people had thronged the Rathore residence to pay their respects to the departed soul. It was a wonder seeing so many people turn up at his funeral considering his nature and behaviour. A local politician, Ram Lal Yadav, of the ruling party, and Sandeep Gupta, Vikramjeet’s close business partner and friend were also among those who had come to pay their last respects.

“It’s going to be a new show today.” Mused Abhimanyu Pratap Singh as he made his way through the crowd. He wanted to rope in the politician and the businessman in his interrogation procedure.

“How do you know the deceased Vikramjeet Singh Rathore?” He asked Ram Lal Yadav.

“Who doesn’t know of him? He was such a great personality.” Ram Lal Yadav, answered in a fake sobbing voice. Inwards, he was deeply worried about the business deal which was supposed to take place today.

Abhimanyu then asked the same question to Sandeep Gupta, the businessman.

“He was a school friend, a college friend, and a close business partner,” Sandeep replied wiping the tears from his face.

All of this seemed to Abhimanyu to be put up and fake. He had a gut feeling that everyone was lying and every single individual had something to hide.

Anyways, the Rathore family made preparations for the funeral in the coming days. You know sometimes things happen that though seem ordinary at the time have deep significance in life. Something like this happened with the Rathore family also. That very night, an intruder ransacked Thakur Vikramjeet Singh Rathore’s study. It seemed that he was looking for something.

The servant Bahadur generally used to sleep at night and when he saw a slight sliver of light emanating from Vikramjeet Singh’s study, he grew alarmed and curious. He went in straight to the room and was shocked to find the intruder in the middle of reading something. Though he tried to stop the intruder from escaping, the intruder managed to flee from the scene.

The next day, this matter was reported to Abimanyu Pratap Singh as he came with the autopsy report. He called the whole family into the big drawing-room.

“According to the autopsy report, Thakur Vikramjeet Singh has died of a massive heart attack.” The whole family was stunned and in shock. Inspector Abhimanyu then drops the bombshell.

“There was a huge quantity of Ibuforene found in his blood.” Now, everyone just stared at him speechless.

“According to doctors, it is a medicine given to prevent heart attacks. The presence of more than normal quantity of this medicine proves that Thakur Sahaab’s death was not a natural one!”

He waits for the after-effects.

“I knew that he was an arrogant, commanding, dictatorial man. And I also knew that he had a lot of enemies. What I didn’t know was that his enemies have penetrated his family also.” Rukmini Devi spoke for the first time with finality.

Now, the whole family was stunned and just looked at Rukmini Devi.

“What are you saying Maa?” Ajay Singh cried out.

“You mean one of us killed our father?” Vijay Singh piped in.

“I don’t know. But I knew that he was called an autocrat even at home. But he was a good man at heart. I know my husband. Rukmini Devi said in between tears.

Abhimanyu Singh was enjoying all of this but he maintained a poker face at all times.

Then he was told about the intruder and the ransacking of the study. He called in Bahadur.

“Did you get to see his face?” Abhimanyu asked.

“No sahaab, he was wearing a woolen mask,” Bahadur replied.

Promising that he would look into the matter Abhimanyu went away with a strange impression forming in his mind.

“Koi toh jhoot bol raha hai aur kuch chupa raha hain inme se.” He mused.

A few days had passed and the Rathore family was trying to get back to normalcy. It was a Monday morning when Ajay was called by his mother to her room.

“Ajay, you have to meet with the delegation. Your father, later on, permitted to meet them.”

Ajay was taken aback by this news. He never imagined that he would be given such a huge and important responsibility finally! Again someone had overheard their conversation.

A few days later Ajay, who had gone for the meeting in Delhi, was coming back with information that both shocked and surprised him. He had not believed at first that someone from his family could do such a thing. Anyways, he was rushing back in his zeal to divulge this information to his mother. As he was driving lost in thought he failed to see a truck recklessly driving in the opposite lane. Suddenly, the truck swerved and came rushing head-on towards Ajay’s car!

Before he could understand anything there was a huge head-on collision and Ajay Singh Rathore died on the spot. The truck driver escaped from the spot.

Meanwhile, at the Rathore residence, Rukmini Devi was anxiously waiting for her son to arrive and give her the important information which he had talked about over the phone.

Inspector Abhimanyu Pratap Singh was the harbinger of the bad news that Ajay Singh Rathore had died in an accident. His wife Kamiya fainted as soon as she heard the news. Rukmini Devi was devastated. Not a few days had passed since she had lost her husband and now this sudden loss of her eldest son was too much for her. She just collapsed on the sofa ashen-faced. The whole family was shocked and in a state of grief. Someone had revived Kamiya, Ajay Singh’s wife and she was crying inconsolably.

“It was a head-on collision.” Inspector Abhimanyu said.

“The truck driver has escaped but we will catch him.” He added further.

“What makes you think that it was an accident Inspector?” Rukmini Devi asked straight-faced.

Everyone was taken aback by this sudden fierce outburst from their mother. Even Abhimanyu Singh was slightly taken off-balance.

“What makes you think it was otherwise ma’am?” He countered.

“Because he had called me and told me that some things that have been happening in the family. He wanted to personally divulge all of this to me only.” Rukmini Devi said.

“He also said that someone from the family is involved in Thakur Sahaab’s murder and is siphoning off money all these years from the family accounts!” She further added.

Now, this got everyone’s attention. Every member of the family started looking at each other with suspicion and doubt. No doubt it was a shocker for everyone.

“Did he give you any clue as to who might be doing this?” Inspector Abhimanyu asked.

“No, he did not want to divulge much on the phone.” Rukmini Devi said.

Inspector Abhimanyu thought for a few moments and said “if you get hold of any information kindly let me know.”

With that, he took their leave and while exiting the Rathore Mansion pondered “ Kuch toh hain is khaandaan mein.”

Days passed on and so did the investigation. Inspector Abhimanyu put all the members of the Rathore family under strict police surveillance. He started getting daily updates from the surveillance reports.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in Rathore's residence had become that of mutual doubt, suspicion, and tense moments. 

A few days later, when the servant of the house, Bahadur Singh was making his normal rounds of inspection he overheard a conversation that blew his mind and left him shaking from head to toe!

“I took care of Thakur Sahaab for you. I took care of Ajay Singh Rathore for you and now you are saying that I will not get anything!” Anonymous.

“What you did was for your benefit. You only thought about your benefit. You are the kind of person who can harm anybody who you perceive as a threat to your selfish interest!” Another anonymous.

“What you did was to preserve yourself and prevent the truth from coming out!” Second Anonymous.

Bahadur Singh was so shocked to hear all of this that in his nervousness he tumbled with a stick there and fell with a large thud.

Before he could get up and escape someone grabbed him from behind and broke his neck.

Now, the media got into a frenzy and started publicly attacking the police for their inability to solve the case. The seniors also started putting pressure on Abhimanyu Pratap Singh as they were getting the heat from above.

One thing I forgot to tell you is that Bahadur Singh had managed to tape all the conversation between the two people and had hidden the evidence very cleverly in his clothes before being discovered. The police now had retrieved that piece of crucial evidence. And Inspector Abhimanyu Pratap Singh was shocked when he overheard the conversation as he knew very well whose voices were taped on the phone!

Finally, a few days later, with a proper arrest warrant, Inspector Abhimanyu Pratap Singh went with his police party to pay a final visit to the Rathore Mansion. He gathered all the members of the family. All except Vijay Singh Rathore, who was a bit late in coming to the room as he was doing something.

“Has everyone arrived?” Abhimanyu asked.

“Yes.” Rukmini Devi replied.

“After all these days of investigations and interviews conducted with various people, we have finally identified the murderer who killed Thakur Vikramjeet Singh Rathore, Ajay Singh Rathore & Bahadur Singh.” He informed everyone.

“We have also arrested the driver of the truck.” He added further.

He could see that Veerbhadra Singh and Vijay Singh shifted a bit uncomfortably in their seats. He smiled.

“Before I declare the name of the culprit, ma’am you are sure you can handle this?” Abhimanyu asked.

Rukmini nodded firmly.

“Okay then, with all the evidence and forensic reports and interviews conducted it has been found that Vijay Singh Rathore is the actual murderer of Thakur Vikramjeet Singh, and also he has involvement in Ajay Singh’s murder and Bahadur Singh’s murder.”

“It is also found that Veerbhadra Singh is the actual murderer of Bahadur Singh and he was the one who hired the truck driver to kill Ajay Singh Rathore and make it look like an accident.”

He kept quiet and waited for the effects of the nasty bombshell he had dropped on the Rathore family.

Everyone was silent initially for a few seconds, and then a flurry of emotions burst out.

“What!” Vijay blurted out.

“How can you even think of such a thing? That I will murder my father and elder brother?” He blurted out.

“Mother, you don’t believe this nonsense, do you?” He asked Rukmini Devi.

Every member of the family was simply too stunned and shocked to react to this devastating news.

“As huge quantities of Ibuforene were found in Thakur Sahaab’s blood count which was responsible for the massive heart attack, our initial suspicion fell on the doctor. But then after talking to him we found out that this medication was present with Rukmini Devi, who used to administer it in limited doses when required.” Abhimanyu explained.

“We also found out from the driver that Veerbhadra Singh stole the vials from Rukmini Devi’s room and gave it to Vijay Singh on that night.”

“We also know that Vijay had gotten wind that Ajay knew about his crime and also was aware of his swindling from the family accounts.”

“This is what he was going to divulge to Rukmini Devi.” He added.

Rukmini Devi looked at Vijay and said “ Why?”

“Did I do something wrong with you?”

“Did you think that you will not get anything?”

Vijay just looked down speechless.

“Having a son like you is disgusting. It would have been better that I should not have given birth to you.” She added disdainfully and in tears. Even Vijay’s wife also felt so shameful and disgusted at her husband’s actions that she bowed her head and wept silently.

“Vijay Singh Rathore & Veerbhadra Singh, I arrest you on the charges of murder of Thakur Vikramjeet Singh Rathore, Ajay Singh Rathore, and Bahadur Singh. You have the right to remain silent. If you don’t have an advocate, one will be provided to you.”

With that, he arrested them and took them away from the Rathore Mansion