HE WANTED TO BE FAMOUS

Naomi Dutta was a very well-known and popular name in ‘Tollywood’, West Bengal’s equivalent to ‘Bollywood’. Naomi was a very successful actress in Bengali films and television. She was also known for doing theatres and web series. Some of her films had been all-time block-busters and she had also won the prestigious ‘Film -Fare Awards’ twice for her performance. She had achieved all of this success and fame after a long struggle of 7 years and the commendable part was that she was still young. She was a big-time choice for all the brands that advertised in the primetime- slots on televisions across West Bengal. She was a pretty-looking girl and very humble and the thing that attracted young men towards her was that she was still single. When asked about her plans, she would reply politely with a smile “I have still a lot to give to my audience and fans through my performance.” People also asked about her name. She just gave that dazzling smile of hers and used to say “My parents were inspired by the international model, Naomi Campbell, that’s why they chose to name me after her.” Perhaps, the most unique aspect of her character was her humility and simplicity which attracted most people towards her. Recently, she had a huge house in the middle of Park Street and was planning to bring her parents from the Medinipur district to live with her. This was something which most youngsters who have tasted success and fame don’t think of doing.

Anyway, it was on a Wednesday, that Naomi had finished a hard day of shooting for a mystery movie and was ready to pack up and go home. “Hey, Naomi, want to go for a drink?” Her co-star, Ranjit Sarkar asked. Ranjit Sarkar also was a rising star in the Bengali film world.

“No Thanks, Ranjitda, I am really tired today. Some other day perhaps.” Naomi politely replied with that same sweet smile. Everybody knew that something was brewing between these two but they always denied these conjectures and speculations and said “We are just friends and co-stars, that’s it.” So, she took leave from the film crew and Niranjan Dey, the director of the movie and left the studio. As she was making her way towards her car, she thought someone was following her. She turned around but there was no one there. As she was tired and just wanted to go home and plan for the next day when she had to bring her parents to this house. She was oblivious to the fact that she was being watched and followed throughout the day. Even now, someone was following her from a discreet distance. She did not pay much attention as she was just thinking of reaching home, taking a shower and going to sleep. The next day was going to be the biggest day of her life when she will be bringing her parents to her new home to stay with her. Inwards, she was very happy with this thought.

Naomi reached home at around 10:30 p.m. She parked her car and was walking towards her front door when she again had the feeling that someone was following her. She turned around but could not see anyone, just a few street kids goofing around and a bunch of street dogs fighting over stray leftovers from the dustbin. She quickly unlocked her front door and stepped in. Now she felt relaxed in the confines of her home. Her home was truly elegant and grand. With a large drawing room and stylish furniture, it gave a feeling of opulence. There were 3 bedrooms; each one spacious, attached with their bathrooms and were quite spacious with big beds. She went to her room and changed and quickly took a shower. While in the shower she felt that someone was in her room. She turned off the shower and waited. After a few minutes, she tiptoed out of the washroom and dressed herself in her nightgown. The eerie feeling had again returned and it was now nagging her. She looked around the room and went downstairs. She meticulously checked all the rooms. Everything was normal and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, yet she was stressed. Naomi switched on the expensive music player and poured herself a glass of Sherry. “Why not?” She thought to herself. Since she was doing well, therefore she could afford life’s little luxuries. Though this did not make her arrogant or vain. She started swinging slightly with glass in her hand to the tune of the soft music.

As she turned around, she reeled back in shock. She saw someone standing in front of her leering at her. A few seconds passed “Who are you?” she asked after gaining composure. There was no reply.

“How did you come in?”

“What do you want?”

Still, no reply the intruder just kept on leering at her.

“Kaun ho tum and kya chahiye tumhe?” she again asked, now she was growing alarmed.

Did I forget to mention that the intruder was wearing a clown mask and also, he had a video camera in his hand? He had been discreetly recording Naomi’s every move since the time she had entered her house.

“Yeh video kyun bana rahe ho. Kaun ho tum?” she was now desperate.

The intruder now said nothing and said “Mujhe aapke tarah popular banna hain.”

Naomi was taken aback by the hoarse voice of the intruder. She was also completely dumbfounded by this weird statement.

“Toh main kaise help kar sakti hoon. Tum kuch karo aur mehnat se tum bhi popular ho jaaoge.” She replied nervously.

The intruder shook his head and started moving towards her. Now, Naomi was startled and started panicking. She was scared also. “Kya hua ……. Aage mat aao nahi to main shor karrongi aur police ko bula loongi.” She desperately warned, however, she also inwardly cursed herself for keeping her phone upstairs. The intruder knew this and just smiled and kept on menacingly towards her. All of a sudden, with three big strides the intruder approached Naomi and pushed her towards the cushion. Naomi was so shaken by this sudden onslaught that she lost her balance and flew backwards. She struck her head on the centre table and it gave her a deep cut which started bleeding profusely.

Naomi was dazed but she knew that she had to escape. Unfortunately, the intruder was standing in between the front door and Naomi, and he had also increased the volume of the music. So, nobody could hear her. She still screamed and groggily got up to her feet. “Helppppppppppppppppp……………………. Somebody” But the music was so loud that nobody could have listened to her desperate cries for help. She started throwing things like cushions, glasses, and small plastic bowls, but the intruder dodged everything thrown in his way and kept on advancing towards her.

She tried to run upstairs but the intruder now gave her a shove that she again her head on the railing of the stairs. The intruder had been filming all this time and in between he would say “Agar bacha sakte ho to bacha lo issue.”

Naomi was losing a lot of blood from the deep gash in her head, she was also starting to lose consciousness due to the second blow and was feeling very weak. Still, she managed to take the first step towards the stairs when she found herself dragged backwards by the flock of her head.

She now had no strength to defend herself and the intruder now kept punching her and smashed her nose. All this time he was filming all of this. Now the intruder took out a rope from his coat pocket. It was quite a large rope made of jute. He flung one end of the rope towards the fan and made a noose of the other end.

 Naomi understood that these are the last few moments, so she somehow tried to put up a fight but the intruder again gave her a couple of hard punches on the stomach which knocked the wind out of her. Then the intruder picked up Naomi and ties the noose around her neck.

 She tried to struggle but the noose was tightening her neck as she was dragged brutally across the floor. The intruder now started pulling up on the other end of the rope and Naomi found herself being pulled upwards. She tried to struggle but realized it was futile. At last, Naomi died a painful and miserable death, not knowing why she had been attacked.

The intruder had video-recorded everything in his phone which he now transferred onto Naomi’s phone. He then uploaded the whole video to police headquarters and a few of the big media outlets. He knew this would create quite a sensation and quietly gave a smile of satisfaction as his road to glamour and glory had begun.

This video indeed created a sensation both in the media and at the police headquarters.

Inspector Shantanu Roy was sleeping peacefully at his home when he got rudely awakened by the shrill ringing of his phone. “You need to come asap to the station.” It was all he could hear before the phone was kept abruptly down. He did not have the time to ask anything. So, he had to get up and awaken his wife, Priya, who was also in deep sleep. “I have told you a thousand times to quit this job.” She grumbled and unwittingly got up. Ignoring her he quickly showered and changed into his uniform, took a hurried sip of tea and rushed to the police station. Here, Inspector Roy got the biggest shock of his life. He found the entire police station in pandemonium and there was a lot of presence of senior police officials milling around. Everyone seemed to be grim and tense.

“What’s wrong, Third World War has started or something?” he asked in light humour.

“Arrey Sir, something terrible has happened that has brought the top brass tumbling out of their beds here.” Dilip Ghosh, his assistant replied in a serious tone.

Just then, Deputy Commissioner, Abhijeet Chakravorty entered Inspector Roy’s room and gestured him to quietly follow him. He took Inspector Roy to a cabin where all the top brass were intently watching the monitor on the wall. Inspector Roy took a look and gasped. All the events leading up to Naomi Dutta’s murder were being played on the screen. All of them watched in utter disbelief and silence the whole of the video. After a few minutes, as the video ended, Deputy Commissioner Chakravorty addressed the crowd and said “We need to find this monster and bring him to justice.”

“What do we know about the killer.” Dilip Ghosh asked.

“Nothing, and the worse part is the media too has a copy of this video and wants to air it to the people. The Commissioner had a tough time convincing all the media heads not to do this.” He replied.

He then looked at the faces in front of him and ordered “I want all of you to put your complete attention and focus and drop everything else you are doing. Get this man.” He added derisively.

He then looked at Inspector Roy and said “You are going to lead this investigation and catch this killer. Leave no stone unturned.”

“You can start right now by going to the murder spot. Inspector Sen and Chatterjee are already there”

“Also, let me warn you, Nilanjana Basu, the journalist is also there.”

“What is she doing there?” asked Inspector Roy.

“She was the one who also got a copy of this video.” Deputy Commissioner Chakravorty grimly replied.

“One more thing, not a word of your investigation to the media.” He ordered Inspector Roy.

Inspector Roy was taken aback at this as he and Nilanjana had a long history and it was not pleasant.

“Phew……………….” Inspector Roy said looking at the lavish house.

“Welcome to the party Roy.” Inspector Chatterjee said. Inspector Chatterjee was a short guy but he had an immense sense of humour and was said to be a jovial, happy-go-lucky kind of guy. However, he also looked grim and tense.

“What’s the situation?” Roy asked.

“You can find out for yourself.” Inspector Sen replied gruffly. Inspector Chatterjee just rolled his eyes upwards and shrugged helplessly. Roy and Sen also had a long history and both of them had a rivalry that had been going on for many years now. The entire police department was aware of this and used to joke about it behind their backs. Anyways, Roy went inside the house. Here he found all kinds of things strewn around. There were pieces of broken glass lying around, an ashtray, and cushions all over the floor. He also found blood stains starting from the kitchen area right up to the spot where Naomi was hanging. He looked at her.

“What a miserable way to die.” Someone behind Roy remarked.

He turned around and saw Nilanjana Basu with a cigarette in her mouth standing there. Nilanjana was a tall, pretty and quite famous journalist in the city. She also won a lot of awards for her courageous, bold and honest investigative journalism. She was also quite feisty and was quick to point out others' follies. Roy and Nilanjana had a tiff going back five years when Inspector Roy had to physically remove Nilanjana from a crime scene.

“How long have you been here?” Roy asked.

“Arrived a few minutes before the crowd started building up here.” She replied.

“I heard you also received a video of this.” He asked.

She nodded her head. “Took a lot of persuasions not to put it in prime time. My bureau head was livid but the Commissioner threatened him with the charge of interfering with the investigation.” She replied.

Roy kept quiet. “Typical Police high-handedness.” Nilanjana snorted.

Inspector Roy ignored her and looked around and after his initial investigation came out of the house.

“What a tragedy.” One of the onlookers said.

“Who could have killed such a nice girl?” another one gasped.

Roy then asked the neighbours whether they had seen anyone or heard anything. They all shook their heads.

“I wanted to come over and ask Naomi to reduce the volume of her music.” One of the neighbours said.

Roy looked at this man and asked “What is your name sir?”

“My name is Robi and I live just a few meters from Naomi’s house.” The man replied.

“So did you see anyone entering or leaving Naomi’s residence?” Roy asked.

“No, I had gone to sleep but the loud music was disturbing my sleep. So, I thought of walking over and asking Naomi to reduce the volume.”

“I was also surprised that she had never before played music at such a loud volume, so why now?” the man added.

Inspector Roy looked deeply at the man and somehow felt something odd about this man standing in front of him. However, he decided to keep his thoughts to himself. One important thing, in the room where Naomi Dutta’s body was hanging, Inspector Roy had found a gold and diamond encrusted ring with the initials “RS” engraved on it. On further questioning, this ring did not belong to the victim, according to her maid.

This particular type of murder was a challenge to the Kolkata police as they had never encountered such a sadistic and twisted killer before. So, they were all putting their best efforts to identify and catch this killer. Moreover, this particular video was so gruesome that it nearly rattled all the seasoned officers in the police force.

Anyways, during further course investigation Roy found out that Naomi had a slight tiff with Ranjit Sarkar, her co-actor in the upcoming film. He also found out that Ranjit Sarkar was a successful and arrogant man who would try to intimidate his co-stars when they would not play according to his wishes. So, Inspector Roy decided to visit the actor.

Ranjit Sarkar lived in a grand mansion. The rooms of his mansion were big, grand and covered with exquisite paintings on all sides. Furthermore, the flooring was covered with expensive carpets and the dining hall was made of imported marble. “This guy reeks of money” Roy murmured.

Ranjit Sarkar was a handsome and tall man. He towered over most of the people with his height of 6”4 feet and had chiselled features on his face, just like a Greek god. “No wonder people fall for him,” Roy remarked. His assistant Sub-Inspector Dilip Ghosh was mesmerized by the grandeur and the opulence and remarked “I wish I too had such luck. Look at all the opulence and the extravaganza sir.” Inspector Roy looked on and said, “It’s because of poor suckers like you that these leeches are successful in sucking the blood of the masses.” It was evident that Inspector Roy had no liking for celebrities and the glamour world.

“Where were you Mr Sarkar on the night when Ms Dutta was murdered?”

Ranjit Sarkar looked as if he was still in shock and took some time to respond.

“Daikh, acting shuru.” Roy murmured to Ghosh.

“I was at my home,” Ranjit replied.

“Can anyone corroborate this,” Roy asked.

Ranjit Sarkar was a bit taken aback at this. Normally, he knew people would take him at face value and believe everything that came out of his mouth. But the inspector was not one of those kinds.

“Yes… of course. My servant Shibu can vouch for me. Isn’t it Shibu?” He pointed at a middle-aged man who was nervously standing at one side.

Roy looked at Shibu and asked, “Is he speaking the truth?”

“Yes sir, Saheb had a drink after 10:15 and then went to his study and stayed there till 11:00 p.m.”

Inspector Roy had done his research on Ranjit Sarkar and knew that the actor was fond of wearing and showing off flashy jewellery. He was seen in many social gatherings and parties wearing a big flashy diamond and gold encrusted ring with the initials “RS” inscribed on it.

Much similar to the ring found at the murder site. Roy now asked a couple of very crucial questions that unnerved Ranjit Sarkar.

“What was the tiff between you and Ms Dutta?” Roy asked.

Ranjit was at first, taken aback but then calmly regained his composure and replied “Oh…. It was nothing, she and I had a minor difference of opinion on dialogue delivery.” He replied off-handedly.

“It was so minor then why did you shout at her and threaten her in front of the crew?” Roy asked Steely.

Ranjit was surprised that the inspector knew of this but still managed to remain calm and said “Inspector, you can ask anybody, they will all vouch that I have a short temper but have never harmed or hurt anyone here.” He replied.

“Then why were you following Ms Dutta on the night of her murder?”

Now this was news to Ranjit. He had thought no one would know about him following her. “I wanted to apologize.”

“Why didn’t you?” Roy was enjoying this.

Now came the most important point in the interrogation.

“Can you please show me the ring that you like to flaunt in the public and media so much Mr Ranjit?” Roy went for the kill.

Ranjit now felt trapped but somehow replied waveringly “I seem to have lost it and I have ordered a replacement for it. If you want, I can show you the invoice for the substitute.” He replied.

“That won’t be necessary Mr. Sarkar because the police have found your ring right next to the murder site.” Inspector Roy felt a strange kind of joy while informing Ranjit about this. Ranjit Sarkar was now at a loss of words. “I have nothing to with this murder.” He pleaded.

“I am arresting you on the suspicion of murdering Ms Dutta, Mr Sarkar. Anything you say will be held against you. You have the right to remain silent.” With that, Inspector Roy, in a moment of elation put the handcuffs on Ranjit Sarkar’s wrists and took him away.

The next day, the newspapers and media were buzzing with the sensational news of the arrest of the famous actor Ranjit Sarkar. There were numerous speculations, rumours and gossip buzzing around. People were all shocked that such a great actor could have done such a ghastly thing. The defence team of Ranjit Sarkar, on the other hand, were preparing their fight that this arrest was made on circumstantial evidence and they had no real proof of Mr. Ranjit Sarkar murdering Ms. Naomi Dutta.

The supporters of the actor were on the streets protesting against this and demanding the immediate release of the actor. Things heated up when the opposition political parties started making a ruckus about the government and the police's inefficiency in catching the real killer. The heat had started building up on the police and this trickled down to Inspector Roy also.

“What do you think you are doing Inspector?” The Commissioner asked.

He looked upset as he had gotten a chewing from the Home Ministry and now he was venting it out on Inspector Roy. It seemed that Ranjit Sarkar had friends and followers at some very powerful places.

“Just doing my job Sir,” Roy replied.

“Well, your job is to catch the killer, and not satiate your ego because of some personal dislike of celebrities.” Growled the Commissioner.

“Sir, all the evidence is pointing at Ranjit. He has also said that he had a tiff with the victim.”

“So what, I also had a tiff with my wife, that doesn’t mean I will go and kill her.” The Commissioner retorted.

“Moreover, all of this is circumstantial and there is no hard evidence Inspector.” He added.

Inspector Roy looked downcast and knew what was coming next.

 

 

“Release Ranjit immediately and start looking for the killer.” The Commissioner curtly said.

“Yes Sir.” A dejected Roy said and left the room.

Inspector Roy looked dejected and lost and felt like hitting something or somebody.

Anyways, Ranjit Sarkar was released as his legal team proved that he was at his home at the time of the murder and also provided witnesses who could vouch for that. He marched triumphantly past Inspector Roy’s room. Here he peeked in and looked at Roy and said “Justice prevails.” He leered at Roy and left.

Roy just looked on but could not do anything and concentrated on the investigation.

3 days later, Pratiksha Goyal, a famous defence advocate was just coming out of the Kolkata High Court and making her way towards the car parking when a gloved hand clamped down hard on her mouth. Before Pratiksha could react, she was made unconscious and dragged away. When Pratiksha regained consciousness, she found herself tied to a chair in a dingy room where there was very little lighting. She could not move her hands or feet as they were tied to a chair and duct tape was put on her mouth. She could not understand what was happening or why was it happening to her. Then she could barely see in the distance an outline of a man who was doing something with her phone camera. As the man turned around, he had an evil clown mask on his face and was walking with an airtight plastic sheet in his hands. Pratiksha now afraid for her life tried to scream but could not. She tried to struggle but her hands and feet were bound. Moreover, no one could have heard her as she was in a room that was hardly ever used. The killer once again turned at the camera and said “Rok sako toh rok lo……” With that, he quickly went behind Pratiksha and put the plastic bag on her head covering her head completely and started tightening it. Pratiksha by now realized that she had very few moments to live and she started screaming. Unfortunately, nobody could hear her as her screams were muffled by the duct tape. She also now could not breathe. Gradually, she felt dizzy as the oxygen supply to her brain was slowly cut off. Within a few minutes, Pratiksha lost the battle of her life and her head bowed forwards like a broken twig. All this time the killer had held on tightly to the plastic bag and when he was satisfied that she was dead, he took off the bag. He then calmly uploaded the video and went out of the courthouse whistling to himself.

Inspector Roy was still going over the investigation when he got the news that another murder had taken place. This time it was that of an advocate and that too, a famous one.

“What’s with this killer? Murdering all famous people?” Mused Inspector Roy.

He was also stunned by the audacity of the killer. I mean who could imagine killing someone right in the courthouse, where hundreds of people and law enforcement authorities are milling about? Anyways, when Roy reached the Courthouse, he could see that a massive crowd had gathered in front of the Courthouse. He immediately ordered a cordon to be erected and entered the building premises. The first thing he observed was the brilliance and cunning of the killer in choosing the place where there were so many people present in broad daylight. He entered the dingy room and there he saw Pratiksha Goyal sitting on a chair, with a plastic bag wrapped tightly around her head. He also noticed that her hands and feet were bound to the chair. At that moment, Assistant Commissioner Chakravorty and Senior Inspector Sen barge into the room. Assistant Commissioner Chakravorty had a scowl on his face and Inspector Sen was trying very hard to hide a grin from his face. He knew that Roy was going to get a chewing. Which Roy did get from the commissioner already.

“What do you think you are doing?” Chakravorty growled at Roy.

“Doing my job sir.” A startled Roy replied.

“My foot! You don’t have a single clue to the identity of the killer. Moreover, you go and arrest the great actor on mere circumstantial evidence; and then you say, you are doing your job!” countered Chakravorty.

Roy knew that Assistant Commissioner had also got good chewing from the Commissioner, and now he was here to vent it out on him. He kept quiet and looked straight ahead. He could make out that Inspector Sen was enjoying this moment.

“You want me to give this case to Sen?” asked the Commissioner.

Roy kept quiet as he knew more would be coming.

Not getting any counter-reply from Roy softened the Assistant Commissioner’s onslaughts.

“You know I have a soft corner for you, don’t you?” He asked softly.

“Yes Sir,” Roy replied.

After a gap of maybe five seconds, Chakravorty said “ I am giving you one last chance before I give this to Sen. He would be most happy to take over the investigation, do you understand.” The Assistant Commissioner looked straight into Roy’s eyes.

Still looking straight ahead, Roy replied “Yes Sir.”

Nodding his head, the Assistant Commissioner then said “Quickly find me the killer. The video he has sent is far more gruesome and it has upset a lot of senior heads in the department.”

“They are baying for my blood now.” He added.

With that the Assistant Commissioner went out of the room, Inspector Sen lingered for a few seconds and looked at Roy and left. Inspector Roy very well knew that it was a clear message to him to act up or be left behind.

He called out to his assistant “Dilip come here quickly.”

Dilip Ghosh immediately rushed to the room. Roy immediately started giving instructions to him and the rest of the staff.

That very night, when Roy was at his home when he received an anonymous call.

“Hello Inspector Roy, how are you?”

“Who is this?” asked Roy.

The caller chuckled and said, “It’s a shame that you got a dressing down from the Assistant Commissioner today.” “Doesn’t he know that you are one of the most brilliant investigators in the Police Force, at least better than the morons they have?” He added with a giggle.

Roy could not find a caller id but somehow managed through his wife to contact Dilip and ask him to put a trace on this call.

“What do you want from me?” asked Roy to keep him long enough to get a trace on the caller.

“Ah! Trying those old tried and tested techniques on me Inspector…….?” Asked the caller.

“What do you mean?” Roy asked, a little bit taken aback.

“Don’t be so naïve Inspector Roy. You know very well that it’s no use trying to trace this call.” The caller said.

“Anyways, I called you to say that today also, I have dropped a clue for you. The last time you arrested that prick, Ranjit Sarkar.” He again chuckled.

Roy kept quiet hoping that the call might be traced.

“Why are you so quiet Inspector?” asked the caller.

“Oh….. I get it. Are you still trying to trace the call? I feel sorry for you Roy. Maybe this time I should go for the Assistant Commissioner and the Commissioner…. Huh…… What do you say, Roy?”

Roy understood that this killer was very cunning and he had deliberately dropped a silver casing lighter with the same initial “RS” at the crime scene today.

“Come on Inspector, who should I go for this time? I promise anyone you say…. eh...?” with that, the killer chuckled once more and disconnected.

“Did you get him?” Roy asked Dilip on the phone.

“No Sir, he was too quick for that.” Replied Dilip Ghosh.

Inspector Roy slammed the phone receiver down with such ferocity that it startled his wife.

At the same time, Nilanjana Basu also called Roy to tell him that this time the killer had made public the gruesome video and it was getting viral.

She also was very perturbed by the video because Pratiksha Goyal was one of her known acquaintances and they had been planning on meeting sometime soon. Meanwhile, the media was having a heyday by publishing headlines like “SERIAL KILLER MOCKS THE POLICE AND COURT BY KILLING INSIDE IT AND STILL BEING FREE.”

The next few days were very hectic for Inspector Roy and his team. They started anew with the investigation, questioning the witnesses if any, sifting through clues, alerting their snitches etc. The strangest aspect of this whole case was that both the victims were miles apart and had no connection with each other. The other most perplexing question was why only these two out of so many opportunities. It was during one of these moments when Inspector Roy was reviewing the video footage, he saw something which made him sit upright and watch it again. He then once again went through the forensic reports and saw something which reminded him of something. However, he could not remember what it was exactly.

“Why are you so tense Sir?” asked Sub-Inspector Dilip.

“Just have a look at the CCTV footage and see if you can see something,” Roy replied.

“From both the places.” Asked Dilip.

Roy just nodded and went outside for a smoke. He had given up smoking but now he had again started after a gap of 5 years. Within a few minutes, Dilip Ghosh ran up to him all excited and worked up.

“Did you see the same thing which I saw?” Asked Roy.

“Yes Sir, we should immediately go and arrest this guy.” An excited Dilip replied.

“Not yet, we don’t have enough proof. I want you to put 24-hour round-the-clock surveillance on this guy and see where he goes.” Roy instructed Dilip.

“Yes Sir.” Dilip saluted and went away immediately to carry ahead the instructions.

Dilip however, did frown when he observed Roy smoking. When Roy saw the raised eyebrow he just dismissed it away and asked Dilip to concentrate on the task ahead.

Now, Roy was convinced that he had got the killer. Just a few more precautionary steps and he would be able to gather enough evidence to go and put this guy behind bars.

 The next few days went in a flurry when one of the informants came up with a startling piece of information. He informed Inspector Roy that the target in question has been seen following his next potential victim for the last 3-4 days. Also, Nilanjana Basu gave another piece of information which put Inspector Roy on high alert and prompted him to take immediate action.

He had also found out that the suspect in question was living in someone else’s house and the real owner was nowhere to be found. Inspector Roy chuckled when he found that this particular guy had a colourful history. He then went to Assistant Chakravorty with all this information to ask for permission to proceed further. Assistant Commissioner was impressed and said, “Good work Roy, go ahead.”

The next day, Inspector Roy, Sub-Inspector Dilip Ghosh and a large police party knocked at Robi’s house. As he opened the door, he knew from that very moment that his game was up. He tried to slam the door shut and run but Inspector Roy pushed back and started chasing after Robi. Though he could not run far because of the limp, Robi still tried to give a fight but was knocked out by Inspector Roy.

As Robi was lying on the ground reeling under the blow, Inspector Roy said: “I am hereby arresting you on the charge of murdering Ms Naomi Dutta and Ms Pratiksha Goyal.” Robi was stumped. He asked “What! You are out of your mind?”

Inspector Roy smiled and said “Not at all Mr. Robi Sanyal.” Robi was taken aback when he heard Inspector Roy take his full name.

Roy chuckled and said, “ I had a bad feeling about you from the moment I put my eyes on you.” “I knew somehow that you were not the same as you pretended to be. After you called me, I grew more suspicious and started digging into your whereabouts, Mr Sanyal.” Robi just kept quiet and looked on.

Roy continued “When we checked the CCTV footage more closely we found out that you were seen a lot of times at the courthouse and also at the shooting site of Ms. Naomi Dutta. We also found out through forensics that the killer had inadvertently left a footprint which was deeper than the other. From this, we could discern that the killer had a limp on his left foot. You can also see in the footage Mr Sanyal that you are seen limping a bit at the courthouse.”

Now, Robi Sanyal knew that he had no chance so he kept looking straight ahead. Roy understood that Robi knew that he had no other choice but to accept what was coming.

“Shall I go on Mr. Sanyal? When you gave me the clue at the second crime scene, it was then I realized that you had deliberately put that ring with the initials RS, so that my initial suspicion falls towards Ranjit Sarkar… eh… Mr. Sanyal?”

Now, Roy was truly in his element. “The final nail in the coffin was you following Nilanjana Basu” Robi looked at him in complete surprise. Roy laughed and said, “We had you under 24-hour surveillance Mr Sanyal and Nilanjana had called me and told me about you a couple of days ago.” “We also know that this house is not yours and it belongs to one Mr. Rakesh Saxena whom you have also murdered and disposed of his body. But you forgot that dead men also tell tales, Mr Sanyal. We found his remains a few clicks from here and from DNA profiling we found out that he was the true owner of this house and you were living here illegally Mr. Sanyal. Not very clever eh……?”

Robi Sanyal looked completely dejected and forlorn. Inspector Roy then put the handcuffs on him and led him out of the house.