Disha

The Sun God had just begun his preparation to set in motion the beginning of a new day. The rain God had not spared the city of Bengaluru in the previous night. Water soaked roads were a testament to that. The pristine river seemed to have an eerie effect, having witnessed the incident of the previous night. In the wee hours of Thursday, people had engulfed around a dead body busy in indistinct chatter. A twenty-eight year old Disha was run over by a vehicle the previous night. The amalgamation of blood and rain water seemed to have painted the road with red. People had no clue about who the culprit was. Was it a deliberate accident or an unintentional one? It was pretty clear that whosoever ran over her did not show even an iota of compassion to take her to a hospital. The police van materialized at the spot. Inspector Ranjan carried out an inspection at the spot to see if he could get any evidence pertaining to the accident. Disha was not breathing anymore. The absence of CCTV camera made the investigation even more hard. Disha's husband, Aravind, was informed about the accident.

As soon as Aravind heard about the death of his wife, he slumped on the sofa being arrested by a shock. His brother Madan and sister-in-law Meera noticed his strange behaviour.
"What happened to you, Aravind? Are you alright?" Madan asked.
Aravind broke down, unable to hide his tears.
"What made you cry? Did anything happen in the office? Please share with us," Madan said, looking perturbed.
"Disha has met with an accident. She is no more. I need to see her," he quickly got back to his feet, gripped in fear.
Madan and Meera shared nervous glances at each other, not equipped to handle the situation. Aravind's mother, Shobha, overheard their conversation.
"Oh, God! What did I just hear?" she got consumed by tremendous pain.
"This is unbelievable. How can Disha die in an accident?" Madan couldn't wrap his head around the reality.
"Be practical, Madan. If time comes, anyone can die in any way," Meera said.
"Why did this happen to Disha? Oh, God! I pray to you every single day. Despite that, why did you cast an evil eye on my family?" Shobha was inconsolable.
Madan and Meera tried their best to pacify her, but to no avail. 
Aravind had already ridden his bike towards the accident spot.

The Sun God had emerged out to quell gloom. The eerie chirp of birds cut a haunting picture. Aravind halted his motorcycle at the accident spot. His heart throbbed, anticipating the reality to change, but to no avail. He weaved his way through the crowd to see his wife's dead body. His wife lay motionless, drenched in rainwater and blood.
"Oh, my God! Disha..." he broke down.
Ranjan observed his expressions very carefully.
"I will send the dead body for a forensic report to determine the cause of death. I want to know whether it is an accident or a brutal murder," he ejaculated, the words out of his mouth, gazing at Aravind.
Aravind did not listen to his words as he was lost in the wave of sadness.
"Most of the times, it is our loved ones who carry out a covert plan to backstab us," Ranjan said, noticing subtleties in Aravind's expressions.
Some people tried to console Aravind since they, too, had a similar experience in the past. The dead body was sent for a forensic report, whereas Aravind was asked to meet the police at the police station along with the family.

The outcome of the forensic report was crystal clear: — a vehicle had run Disha over. Ranjan had the onus of the case on his shoulders and he decided to carry out the investigation in his own inimitable style. He strode into a small room with a bulb hooked to the at the middle of the ceiling. Only the middle spot of the room was illuminated with darkness painted around. First, he asked Shobha to visit the room. The poor lady looked groggy, unable to handle the bitter reality.
"Please have a seat, madam," Ranjan said.
Shobha occupied the seat opposite to Ranjan.
"How was your relationship with your daughter-in-law?"
"Disha was like my daughter. I had a special bond with her. She is full of energy and always respects others. I don't know why God snatched her soul." tears streamed down her eyes.
"Did anybody in the house pick up a fight with her for any reason?"
"No way. Her demeanour did not invite any fight. Since she respected and treated everyone fairly, there was no room for any fight."
"You may go now."
Shobha left the room and was now replaced with Meera.
"How was your relationship with Meera?" Ranjan asked, with his firm gaze fixed on Meera's facial expressions.
"We were like sisters. I cared for her like my own younger sister."
"Do you work outside?"
"No, I am a homemaker."
"Did you harbour any jealousy since she worked outside?" Ranjan continued his barrage of questions.
"Nothing like that. Why would I feel envious of her?" she looked a little uncomfortable.
"Most of the times envy plays an instrumental role in murders," he responded.
"Disha never behaved like a boss in front of me. She gave me an elder sister's status. So, there is no room to feel jealous about her. You can investigate the case deep. I have no problems with that."
"Okay, madam. You may go now. Let your husband in."
Meera walked out of the room and asked her husband to slip into the room. Madan had a seat on cue from the inspector.
"How are you?" Ranjan asked.
"I am not good. I was heartbroken to hear the death of Disha. She was a bundle of energy who upped the spirits of our home. We all shared a deep bond beyond materialistic values."
"I just asked how you are? I did not question about Disha. Please answer only to my questions," Ranjan said.
Madan nodded his head.
"Do you work?"
"Yes."
"Who earns more? Do you earn more or your brother- and sister-in-law earn more?" Ranjan noticed his eyes.
"They earn more than me."
"Any feeling of insecurity with regards to them earning more than you?"
"Nothing like that. They have showed none arrogance. Both of them are down to earth human beings. We all are so united, there was no crack in our relationship."
"Where were you when the accident happened?"
"I was in the house."
"Did you pull the strings?"
"What do you mean? Mind your words."
"Do not teach me how to investigate. Just answer to my questions. Did you get that?" Ranjan raised his voice.
Madan went mute.
"Were you bewitched by Disha's beauty? See this photo. Doesn't she look like a film actress?" Ranjan asked.
"I am married. I have not gone mad to be consumed by others beauty," Madan was supposedly livid.
"Okay, you may go now. Please come back when we summon you to come," Ranjan said.
Madan looked uncomfortable as he left the room to join his family. Aravind strode in.
"How long have you been married?"
"Six years."
"How was the relationship?"
"Pure."
"Did you harbour any grudge against your wife?"
"No."
"Do you have kids?"
"No."
"Six years of marriage, but no kids. Did that create a rift between you two?"
"We were focussed on our careers. We had not planned for a baby," Aravind answered.
"Do I need to believe that? Did anyone of you have any infertility problem?"
"You are asking needless questions that have no bearing on the case."
"You don't teach me what I need to ask. I am the police and please co-operate so that I can perform my duty."
"Ok, sorry."
"Now, answer my questions. Any infertility problem?"
"No."
"Are you a womaniser?"
"Mind your tongue," Aravind rose from his seat.
"If you are not a womaniser, then say no. There is no need to get touchy about it. This is a private conversation between you and me. I don't think you would be interested in other woman courtesy of your wife's beauty."
Aravind clenched his fist but looked helpless.
"I checked your phone. Your wife had tried to reach you out, but you did not pick the call. Why?"
"I tried to call her back, but because of network problems, I couldn't reach her out."
"It was at night, Mr Aravind. When your wife does not come to home at night, as a husband, don't you have an obligation to search for her?"
"She had messaged me saying that she is safe and will reach home in some time. After reading that message, I was assured that she would return home soon."
"Your wife looks like a model. How can you simple rely on a text message? Someone could have coerced her to message like that or else they would have snatched and messaged you. How will you trust the veracity of a text message?"
"We text a lot. And I know her pattern of text."
"This is crazy. Anyway, you may go now. I will summon you to come again."

The next day, Ranjan visited Disha's office to see if he could get any lead in the case. He met his project team spearheaded by manager Mounesh.
He understood Disha had three close friends in the office — Sudha, Suma and Vedika. Without any ado, he began the next step of his investigation process. He asked the manager to come alone into the meeting room.
"How was Disha as an employee of your project?"
"Disha is an all rounder. She is good at coding, testing, communicating with the clients and effectively handling the team. Because of her incredible skills, I only promoted her to lead role just a week back."
"Were there any clashes in your team?"
"I don't think so. We unanimously took a decision to promote Disha. All were supporting her well. There were no conflicts as such."
"Did you see her going with someone on the day of the accident?"
"I am sorry. I am too busy with project needs. I hardly get any time to notice what employees are doing. I just talk to them during meetings."
"You may leave now. Please ask Sudha to meet me."
Sudha came in with her face simmering with nervousness. She fidgeted as she occupied the seat opposite Ranjan.
"Did you kill Disha?"
Sudha had her heart jump into her mouth. She did not expect the first question to be savage.
"I did not kill Disha."
"Why you didn't kill Disha? Who killed Disha?"
"I don't know."
"Your heightened nervousness is a testament to the fact that you have done something wrong."
"No, I have not done anything wrong. I am scared of the police."
"Maybe you are using fear of police as a tactic to cover your sins," Ranjan smiled.
"I never spoke to police before. I am always this way."
"Okay, you may go now. I will come to your house to talk to your parents tomorrow."
Sudha swallowed, widened her eyes, unable to come to terms with what he had just said. Suma strode in.
"How was Disha like a person?"
"Wonderful human being. She is not only good at her work but well equipped to deal with people as well."
"Why did you jeopardize her career?"
"Sorry."
"I mean, why did you stagnate her career?"
"I did nothing. Why would I stagnate her career? I believe in karma. I am not an evil to destroy someone else's career," Suma said.
"How Disha used to treat you in the team? Does she assign you more work?"
"She treats everyone equally and also assigns work equally. She is matured enough to run the team in the right direction, keeping everyone busy and also happy at the same time."
"Who do you think could have killed her?"
"I don't know. Most of the times, our own relatives do not digest our success. Friends are more trustworthy than relatives."
"Great! You may go now."
Ranjan invited Vedika in.
"Is Disha your best friend?"
"Yes, she is."
"Were you envious to see her climb the success ladder?"
"Not at all. She got nothing by luck. She is the most deserving candidate to be in the lead role owing to her stupendous soft and hard skills."
"Did anyone in your team dislike her advancement in the career?"
"I don't think so. We all were happy to see her in the lead role because she was so supportive and encouraging. We literally felt safe and thrived under her leadership."
"How can such a good human being die so early?"
"I have heard that God doesn't allow good souls to stay in the world for long."
"Nice philosophical words."
"You may go now."
Ranjan also collected their residential address.

Ranjan decided to call everyone individually, using some tricks to determine the culprit. He made a phone call to Vedika.
"You are under arrest. We have unearthed the truth. You cannot brush the truth under the carpet anymore. We are coming to your home right away."
"Are you kidding me, sir? Can you please present me the testimony that proves that I am the hand behind the murder?"
"Please come to the police station. I have a very strong evidence at my disposal."
"Fine. I will come right away."
Ranjan disconnected the call and then made a phone call to Sudha.
"Hello, who is speaking?"
"The Ghost is speaking."
"What?" she looked dead scared.
"I am the ghost of Disha. I had trusted you Sudha, but you chose to kill me. I am going to come to your house to exact vengeance."
"I did not kill you, Disha. I don't even have a courage to slap a person. How can I kill someone one?" she looked tense.
"Come to the police station if you have not killed Disha."
Sudha gasped in horror but agreed to visit the police station. Following a comic conversation, he dialled Suma.
"Am I taking to, Ms Suma?"
"Yes, who is on the other side?"
"This is police inspector, Ranjan. We have successfully zeroed in on the culprit responsible for Disha's death. Your game is over. Don't try to pretend anymore. You are under arrest. Come to the police station."
Ranjan did not hear the voice from the other side and quickly the call got disconnected, which reinforced his doubts. He quickly jumped into the jeep and zoomed towards her home. He stumbled upon her mother, who said that she had not seen her daughter in the last half an hour and had no information about her whereabouts. Ranjan called other constables to quickly figure out her whereabouts as he deftly believed she could not run away so soon. Eventually, they nabbed her near the train station.

On the day of Disha's murder:
Disha left the company at night and then slipped into an office cab which navigated through a long road. Suma's car interrupted the cab.
"Hey, Disha! Are you going home?" Suma asked.
"Yes, Suma."
"Can we have dinner together? You can join me over," Suma requested.
Disha obliged her request. The office cab left the spot. They both had dinner together in a nearby restaurant.
"You look to be so happy today," Disha said.
"I have great news to share with you. I am getting married."
"Wow! What great news! Finally, you have found your soulmate."
"Let us dance on this bridge road."
They both looked at the river beneath the bridge. The gentle breeze brushed past them to render goosebumps. Suma, being a senior employee, couldn't digest the fact that her junior had become a team lead at her expense. She only pretended to be happy for Disha but harboured a grudge within which only got fuelled, seeing her thrive as a leader. The way she amicably dealt with others exacerbated her woes. She couldn't resist her envy anymore and activated her evil mind to plan the extreme. Both of them danced on a deserted bridge road accompanied by the slight drizzle.
"Hey, Disha! You are looking drop dead gorgeous today. I want to take your photos. In the meantime, you can enjoy the serenity of nature."
On the pretext of picking up a camera, she quickly got inside the car and started the engine.
Disha turned back. "What happened?"
"I will park the car at the side and come," she said, looking out of the window.
Poor Disha did not expect her friend to turn against her. She continued to soak in the drizzle. Ruthless Suma stomped on the accelerator and within seconds, the vehicle got possessed by her evil spirit and it ran over Disha, killing her on the spot. Suma stopped the car and then climbed out to ensure she had breathed her last before fleeing the spot. 

Present:
Ranjan informed Disha's husband about the culprit accountable for his wife's death. Aravind couldn't believe his eyes as the bitter reality unfolded in front of him. He knew his wife was close to Sudha, Suma, and Vedika. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine Suma to have played a major role in the murder. Suma found a place behind the bars who couldn't grapple with the new lonely world that confined her. Now, she had to endure the double whammy of getting caught red-handed and having lost a job with the tag of the accused stamped on her name.