Gazette Murder

Monday, 10.30 am, Borivali (E)

Priti enters her small kitchen, all set to start cooking lunch for her two children, and finally trying the recipe she wanted, to surprise her husband with, for dinner.

The doorbell rings.

Who could it be, she wonders, walking towards the door.

"Who is it?" she asks.

"Parcel for Mrs. Priti." Answers a gruff voice from the other side of the door.

"Parcel?" wonders Priti as she unlatches the door. The man with a cap slung low over his face hiding it, enters holding the parcel.

"Maam you need to sign this" he says, offering a paper for her to sign. She signs it.

He holds out the parcel to her. She takes and turns to put it on the table.

"Why is it so light?" she wonders.

Suddenly she feels searing, red hot, pain in back. "What?... she turns back. She sees a hand descending with a blood-stained knife towards her. Pain and then everything goes black.

Lunch time, Daulat Nagar, Police Station 

Senior Inspector Raut sits staring at his lunch box- the low cal, low salt healthy food prepared by his wife in the perennially losing fight to keep him fit- as if it was an unexploded bomb.

"Should I eat this or give to Kaloo, the mutt and order from the new joint that opened yesterday?" wonders Raut.

The cabin door open, Constable Hiremath poke his head in "Murder, Sir."

Priti's house later that day 

Inspector Raut opens the main door. He sees Priti laying on her back in the living room, a gash on the throat. Blood soaking the floor under her.

"Where is the husband?", he asks. Pramod, Priti's husband steps forward.

"What happened?', Raut. " I..I don't know" stammered Pramod. "My neighbor called me at office, after they broke open the door"

Raut talks to the neighbor, she has no clue.

Raut calls the security guard.

"Did you see the courier boy?"

"Yes Sir"

"Describe him."

"He was wearing a cap and had a beard. He was also wearing a white T Shirt and Blue jeans."

"Why did you not come with him?"

"We are not allowed to leave our post. Also, he knew the name and flat no as well."

He points to the parcel on the table and says, "He was carrying that."

Raut turns to the forensic team, "Any fingerprints?" "No."

"Any other thing that can help us?" "Not at present."

Somewhere on a local train

Man with a cap pulled low on his face pulls out a photocopied list. Crosses out Priti's name.

"One down….."

Few days later, 1.30pm, Mulund 

The doorbell rings. Hina tears her eyes away from her favorite serial and calls out,

"Who is it?" "Parcel for Mrs. Hina."

Hina looks through the peephole and sees a man with the cap holding a parcel.

Sometime later, Mulund Police Station

Inspector Gaitonde is playing Candycush. The phone rings, he picks up. A panicked voice cries out, "Saab murder ho gaya!"

Veera Desai, Andheri (E)

Doorbell rings, waking Roshni out of her afternoon nap. She gets up and walks to the door and peeps out.

She sees a man with a cap pulled low on his face…

One month later, Daulat Nagar,Police Station

Inspector Raut leans back, puts his feet on the table and takes a sip of tea. His mobile rings. It is Naresh, his informer.

"What is it?" asks Raut.

"Want to meet you." Says Naresh. "At the usual place." He adds.

Raut enters the restaurant and sees Naresh sitting at a table. Raut sits opposite him and says, "Hope it's worth my while."

"Don't know, Saab."

Raut irritated, "So why are you wasting my time."

Naresh hands Raut a folded piece of paper. "Today morning on the Borivali local, I picked a pocket and found this."

Raut while unfolding the paper, "Idiot, If you get caught don't call me."

He lays the unfolded paper on the table. It was a photocopy of a page having two columns headed, Old Name and Registration Number and New Name with address. A list of names and five of them crossed out. One of them is Priti's.

"It is the photocopy of a page of the Gazette!" exclaims Raut. "Gazette?" Naresh looked puzzled.

"Yeah, it is published by the government and this is the page where people who want to change their names, get their new names published." Explains Raut.

"Do you have anything of the guy?". "His purse", says Naresh handing it over.

Later that Day, Daulat Nagar Police Station

Raut picks up the phone and call Mulund Police station. "Inspector Gaitonde? It is Raut from Borivali. Do you have any murder victim called Hina?"

He follows it with calls to Veera Desai, Bandra police stations.

Raut leans back and picks up the wallet given to him by Naresh. Flips it open, a clean shaved man's photo looks back at him. "Hello Ravinder."

Late Evening, Malad (E)

Doorbell rings, Ravinder, opens the main door. Inspector Raut and Constable Hiremanth push the door and enter in.

Raut, "How is the courier business?

 

Interrogation Room, Daulat Nagar, Police Station

Ravinder sits at the table handcuffed to it. Raut sits opposite him.

Raut, "Why did you kill all the women?"

Ravinder, "I hate my mother!"

"Ok, but why them."

"My mother always preferred my twin sister. She always got the best stuff. Her birthday was always a grand affair."

"I left my home changed my name. Then I see that there are these women, who also changed their names. I wanted to be unique, so thought to kill them all."