MURDER CASE

                         

NOTE: This story is based on Author’s fiction. It does not apply to any historical references or real-life incidents. This is my second story explained in parts(similar to The Pulp Fiction) after “The Fatal Encounters.”

PART 1: MISSING

DELHI

14^TH SEPTEMBER 2022

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 confined many to their homes with nothing but electronic devices to stay connected with the outside world. As a result, alongside wearing masks and using sanitizer, using dating apps to find like-minded people also became the new normal.

Sitting in the corridor of his house, Arjun called his friend Girivasan. Since Girivasan is his younger sister Megha’s close friend he will be in touch with her. So he called him to enquire about her.

“Giri. How is Megha da? Is she fine?”

“Brother…Megha is not in touch with me.” This shocked Arjun. He questioned Giri: “When did you called her at last?”

“I exactly don’t know brother. But, her phone has been switched off for a few months.” Megha’s father Thilak who heard this called Girivasan and asked about it. And he told the same to him also. Suspecting that there is something wrong, Thilak checked all her social media accounts. There was no recent post or update in that. So immediately he went to the flat where his daughter was staying in Mumbai. But it was locked.

“Arjun. Definitely there is something wrong da.” Thilak said to his son. He and Arjun registered a complaint to the Mumbai police DGP Yeshwant Singh Tagore about his daughter’s missing. Since Yeshwant is the family friend of Thilak and knows Megha for so many years since her childhood, he accepts to investigate the case.

Yeshwant Singh called Dinesh through his phone in the presence of a head constable, Ashwin Thackeray and ACP Anand Deshpande. Dinesh attended the call and said: “Hello.” It seems like he was in a drunken state, when Yeshwant called him.

“Dinesh. Come to my office immediately.” Yeshwant Singh said to him, to which he accepts. The head constable asked Yeshwant: “Sir…Why did you call Dinesh after two long years? Is anything important?”

Yeshwant stared at him and said: “Thackeray. Please get one cigarette from a nearby shop. I need it urgently.” Understanding what he comes to tell, the constable salutes him and goes out to buy him a cigarette.

“Sir. At least tell me, why you called Dinesh after two long years. Aren’t we there to investigate cases? And also, he is now a drunkard.” ACP Anand said. To this, Yeshwant laughed and asked the inspector in turn, “For how many years you are working in Mumbai?”

 Thinking deeper, Anand said: “One and a half years, I guess sir.”

“Just one and a half years.” The DGP said and gives him a newspaper that came on March 9, 2017. He asked him to read about the case. However, Anand doesn’t have the guts to read it after seeing the title of that article. So, the DGP opens up to tell about Dinesh.

PART 2: LIFE OF IPS OFFICERS

A FEW YEARS BACK

DECEMBER 2017

MUMBAI

Dinesh was posted as the ACP of Mumbai under the crime branch. After coming to Mumbai, he had taken on the mining mafia and drugs mafia by seizing a number of trucks, vehicles, and tractors engaged in illegal quarrying. He also killed so many dreaded mafia leaders and dangerous people of the Mumbai underworld, who were involved in heavy smuggling activities with the help of Afro-American gangsters and Indonesian smugglers.

At this point in time, he met Aishwarya Lakshmi, his schoolmate, who is working as a doctor in the hospitals of Mumbai after finishing her studies at AIIMS of Delhi. He slowly falls in love with her after spending some quality time with her. With the permission of his father Nagalingam, he married her and lead a happy life with her.

However, things took a turn when Dinesh took up the mission of arresting illegal drug traders under the instructions of DGP Yeshwanth. It’s an unofficial mission, unknown to the political leaders and media channels. Dinesh and his team successfully nabbed and seized the illegal drug smugglers in the areas of Dharavi, where Dawood Afsal’s gang are present. Eventually, the arrests are leaked by one of the corrupt police officers in the department, causing Dinesh to stop the encounter mission against Afsal.

Afsal being influential decides to take vengeance against Dinesh. Because so many henchmen died in his gang because of Dinesh. Apart from that, he lost 200 crores in a drug deal with an Indonesian gangster. So, Afsal’s remaining henchman kills Kaviya and Dinesh’s father Nagalingam by crushing them under the wheels of a tractor's trolley driven by Shanoob around 01:00 PM.

PRESENT

“The law didn’t accept Dinesh’s point that Afsal killed his family. They released him citing no evidence. As a result of this, he angrily killed Afsal in the presence of many people at the port of Jawaharlal Nehru. Henceforth, I suspended him for some months and he became a drunkard slowly, unable to bear the death of his family.” Yeswanth said to Anand.

He added: “The newspaper I gave you is about an IPS officer killed by goons in Uttar Pradesh. The family is still demanding justice. Police job is not so easy, Anand. It’s very complex and stressful.” At that point in time, Anand gets a call from his daughter Arushi. Henceforth, he requests permission from DGP to go and pick her up from the school, to which he agreed. After he goes out of his cabin, Dinesh entered the room of the DGP.

PART 3: INTERROGATION

He is bearded, looks pale, and is 6-feets high. Dinesh sports a huge hair growth. Saluting Yeswanth, Dinesh stands stiff.

“Take a seat, my boy.” Yeswanth. Sitting in the chair, Dinesh asked him: “I think something is important to you sir. So you called me after two years of gap. May I know the reasons, sir?”

Smoking a cigar, Yeswanth said: “A girl named Megha went missing Dinesh. You have to investigate that case. So only I called you.” When hearing this, Dinesh stands up from his chair. He lashed out at Yeswanth by saying: “I don’t wish to be in the police department anymore, having lost my family due to my honesty and sincerity sir.”

But, Yeswanth showcased a newspaper that tells: “How so many IAS and IPS officers have lost their life due to their honesty and dedication to work for the public.” There were more than 30 people in the newspaper along with their badges and profession. Upon seeing that, Dinesh has a change of heart. Giving the case details to Dinesh, Yeswanth said: “Now, it’s up to you Dinesh. You have to take the right decision.” Pausing for a while, he continued: “There are so many police officers in our crime branch. But, you are the one, who can handle this case better.” Going back to his house, Dinesh closed his eyes and recalled some of the memorable moments with Aishwarya such as kissing her cheek, holding her arms, and romancing her. Her words about life: “Dinesh. The greatest glory in living lies in not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

He shaves his beard and goes to a saloon shop, where he makes a neat army cut to his hair. The next day, he goes through the file of Megha, prepared by Yeswanth in his house after which he meets him in the office.

“Come Dinesh. Are you ready to take up this case?”

“I am already ready sir.” He asked the phone number of Megha and also requests he calls her family members to the office, to which he agrees. Bringing them to the interrogation room, Dinesh questioned Megha’s father Thilak, and her brother Arjun about her.

Thilak started to tell about Megha to Dinesh although Arjun was reluctant.

A FEW MONTHS BACK

2019

A 27-year-old Megha is from Palghar, Maharashtra. She is a calm, obedient and loving girl. All her family members loved her, especially her father Thilak, and brother Arjun, who were more caring and affectionate with her. But, she is an average student. After completing her studies, she worked in a call center.

In 2019, when Megha was working in a call center in Mumbai, she met 28-year-old Aftab Amin Poonawalla through a dating app in Mumbai. Aftab was living with his younger brother and parents in Diwanman, Vasai. His mother Zareena is a housewife, and his father Abdullah is running a wholesale shoe business.

He completed his B.M.S. degree at Raheja college in Mumbai and currently working as a chef. Apart from that, he along with his younger brother did food blogging on Instagram. He was very active on that page by posting food videos and photographs. Megha and Aftab who met on the dating app started to love very sincerely.

When they were in love, in 2019 this matter came to the notice of Megha’s house. Since the boy is a Muslim man, her family refuses to accept their love. Because Megha is a Hindu. When the problem was going on in her house, Aftab said: “You come out of your house. I will definitely marry you.”

So Megha asked permission from her parents to live with him. Her parents who don’t agree to the marriage don’t agree to this also. What Megha said to that means, “I’m not a kid. I’m 25 years old. I have the right to decide. I will look after my life.”

She said, “From now on, forget that I’m your daughter.” Megha packed her clothes and left the house. Though Megha was living together, and even if she left her home after fighting with her parents, she was talking with her mother on the phone. While she was talking like that, and after a few days, she told that: “Aftab was beating her.”

When it was going like this, Megha’s mother passed away in a few days. Until that she was talking to her mother but now she started talking to her father. While she is talking to her father also, she said to him that: “Aftab was physically hurting and behaving violently to her.” Thilak asked her to come back home.

PRESENT

“But she didn’t even listen to what I said to her sir. Since she didn’t listen to me, I stopped talking with her.” Thilak said to Dinesh, who had been noting the details with the help of the constable Ashwin Thackeray. Then Arjun said: “After that several months later, I called Megha’s friend Girivasan on 14^th September sir. He said that she was not in touch with him. And also pointed out that, her phone is switched off for so many months. And henceforth, we lodged a formal police complaint with you.”

With the help of the Control room, when Dinesh tracked her phone number, it showed that: “The phone was in Delhi at last.” So the case was immediately transferred to the Delhi ASP Adhithya Singh Rajput. Thilak said to Aravinth, “His daughter was in living together with a boy called Aftab.” He said everything that was told to Dinesh previously during the interrogation.

Then, he told, “The boy was a bit violent towards my daughter. I have doubts about that boy.” So now Adhithya started the investigation and found that: “Aftab and Megha were living in a rented apartment in Pakadi, Chatakpur.”

When Adhithya found Aftab and asked him, he said: “We both came here to be in living together. But she cheated and left me, sir.” He added: “I was also searching her only sir.” This made Adhithya suspicious. Besides this, when the police(under the instructions of Adhithya) called Aftab for investigation every time, he changed his statement each time.

A FEW HOURS LATER

“Sir. Megha’s phone has been switched off for two months. Also, there was no transaction on Megha’s bank statement.” A head constable, appointed by Aravinth to investigate Megha’s phone told him. This created doubt in him. With the help of his police team, Aravith took Aftab under police custody.

“Megha’s phone has been switched off for two months, Aftab.” Looking at the other police officers for a second, Aravinth turned towards Aftab’s face. He added: “Also there was no transaction on Megha’s bank statement. Why?”

Aftab’s face sweated for a while. Wiping off his sweat, he drinks a glass of water, kept on the table. He said: “Ah…I…I don’t know anything about that sir.” Aravinth’s face became red and he looked at the constable, who brought a stick kept in the police station. Going near to the face of Aftab, Aravinth gives him a tight slap.

Taking the stick in his hands, Aravinth said: “Constable sir. Why are you bringing these kinds of sticks? It’s very old, I think.” Looking at Aftab, Aravinth asked him: “Tell me da. You came to tell something about Megha’s phone right!”

Feared that he might get severe beatings by the police, Aftab pleaded with them not to do anything. Tapping his shoulders, Aravinth looked into his eyes deeply. He said: “Without leaving any single incident, you have to tell us everything about what you did to Megha!”

And this is his confession about how he killed her.

PART 3: CONFESSIONS

SIX MONTHS BACK

Megha has been in living together for more than three years in Mumbai. After that, they decided not to stay in Mumbai and they both went to Delhi and they started living there for a few months. In April and May months in 2022, both of them went to Himachal together and they lived a very happy life. It has been more than three years since they left home. So Megha started to ask Aftab about their marriage. But Aftab avoided it by saying some reasons. After a few days, it started to become a big argument between them.

“How long will you be giving some reason like this Aftab? Marry me immediately da!” said Megha. But Aftab asked her to wait a few more days and they started fighting every time. When it is like this, on May 18^th, as always this problem occurred among them. And in anger, Aftab killed Megha by strangling her neck.

PRESENT

At present, Aftab’s confessions shocked Aravinth and his fellow police officers.

“Where is Megha’s dead body now?” asked Aravinth, to which Aftab says, “It’s in 35 pieces, sir.” He gave a little laughter while telling this, shocking the police officers terribly. He started to tell how he had cut her body into 35 pieces.

18 MAY 2022- 19 MAY 2022

After he murdered her, he ordered food from Zomato. In a few minutes, the food he ordered came. He bought it and ate it. Now he saw Megha who was lying there dead and started thinking about what he should do now. He started thinking about how to escape from this murder. Then he gets an idea and he googles it accordingly.

“How is the human body?” And he googles on how to cut it. Not only that but how to clean human blood? That is when he cuts Megha’s body, and google searched on how to clean blood stains. Based on the idea, he took Megha’s body to the bathroom and used his chef's knife to cut her into a total of 35 pieces very precisely.

Since he is already a chef, he had that knife. After that he used some chemicals and floor cleaners, to clean all the blood stains there. After that, he thought that he cannot dispose of all the pieces at once. So he started thinking about what to do next.

If he keeps those cut pieces for a long time then they will rot soon and start smelling. If the neighbors come to know about this, they will definitely doubt it. So he thought that he can dispose of them one by one. To prevent it from rotting or smelling until he dispose of it, he thought of another way. So the body which was cut should not rot quickly. For that, he bought a big fridge of 300 liters for his house the next day. 

He put the body parts inside the fridge and turned on the freezer. After that, every day he continued to wake up at 2:00 AM in the night, went like going for a walk, and put each body part in a cover. He went to various places in Delhi and dumped it. Some body parts were dumped in the nearby forest. He thought that the animals will eat it and put it there.

PRESENT

Although the other police officers were shocked, Aravinth remains cool. He asked Aftab: “Why did you choose to go at 2:00 AM?”

“At that time only, there will be no movement of people sir. I had put that piece in a black disposal cover and dumped it.” Looking at the police officers and Aravinth, he added: “I did like this for the next few days. But, I noticed that the body inside the fridge began to rot and smell. To reduce the smell, I lit the incense sticks and kept them near the fridge. I continued to do this for the next 18 days.”

“So, you continued to do this for the next 18 days. Right?” asked Aravinth to which, he said: “Yes. I woke up at 2:00 with some body parts and disposed of them in parts of Delhi. I slept in the same room every day where I killed Megha.”

Without any guilt and remorse, he added: “I kept Megha’s head in the fridge and watched it every day. After all the body parts were disposed of, I cleaned and kept the fridge. For showing Megha was alive after that, I used Megha’s Instagram account till June. I was doing everything like uploading photos, and updating posts.” The constable, who was typing these statements on the computer wasn’t able to control his tears. He was very emotional.

Little tears filled in Aravinth’s eyes. Wiping off his tears, he asked Aftab to tell: “What all happened after this?”

“After I killed Megha, I used the same dating app where I met her and went on a date with a lot of girls. I have done many things to escape from it like in the movie. As I had watched a lot of crime movies. Before I did this murder, I was inspired by an American web series called Dexter and did this.”

PART 4: POLYGRAPH TEST

Although the fellow cops are convinced by the confessions of Aftab, Aravinth is still not convinced. Since, he knows well that, “There are some radical Islamist groups, Pseudo-liberals, and left-wing politicians who may ask for a polygraph test to be done.” To justify their points, they use Media as a weapon tool.

ROHINI FORENSIC SCIENCE LABORATORY

Aftab was carried in a police van by Aravinth to Rohini Forensic Science Laboratory and FSL Laboratory. After finishing the test in FSL Laboratory, he was taken to Rohini. When getting inside the entrance of the laboratory, at least two men with their brandishing swords attacked him. They claimed to be from the Hindu Sena party. Both the attackers have been detained. Outside the laboratory, at least five police personnel were guarding Aftab.

During the polygraph test, Aftab confessed some stunning truths to the officials: “Even if I am hanged for the murder of Megha, I would not be sorry. Since I would be remembered as a hero. When I enter paradise, I will be offered ‘Hoors’ in Jannat.”

“Did you have affair with any other woman besides Megha?” asked the official to which, Aftab stated: “Yes. I had affairs with over 20 Hindu girls during my relationship with Megha.”

“How’s that possible?”

“I used the Bumble app to target Hindu women and lure them into a trap. After murdering Megha, I invited a psychologist to my apartment. She was also a Hindu woman. I have given her a ring which belonged to Megha, in a bid to lure her into a relationship. I interacted with a number of other Hindu girls.”

“Did you feel bad about killing Megha and mutilating her body?” asked the official to which, he replied: “My plan was to kill Megha and slice her up in Mumbai itself.” He added: “So, I didn’t feel bad about killing Megha and mutilating her body.” After the test is done, five knives were found in his residence. Aravinth said to the media: “Further proof will be acquired soon.”

Meanwhile, the Delhi court ordered the police to complete the narco-analysis test within five days and warned them not to use any third-degree measures.

Aravinth then interrogated the psychologist about Aftab. She said: “Sir. I am shocked to know that Megha’s body was in the fridge when I visited him. I may need counseling to overcome this.” She cried. With a cool attitude, Aravinth questioned her: “Did you notice any unusual behavior with Aftab?”

Wiping her tears, she said: “No sir. He did not do anything suspicious. He behaved like a gentleman and was very caring.”

The polygraph examination will be followed by the narco test. Aftab has consented to a narco test. During the police interrogation by Aravinth once again, he gave contradictory statements, prompting the police to conduct the narco test. Under the instructions of Delhi police, Aravinth approached the court and sought permission to conduct the narco test.

PART 5: THE BUMBLE BUBBLE BURST

Anjali, a 25-year-old lawyer from Delhi, expressed her fear of using dating apps in the aftermath of the case a few days later talking to News 24 channel anchor Nikitha Sharma. She said: “I have always been mindful of the kind of people I match with, it was never motivated by fear. But now, I am reluctant to even talk to anybody from these apps. Megha’s case has left me scared.”

In Tamil Nadu on the other hand, a media man from TN News 24 channel questioned therapist and relationship coach Janani about the case. She said: “If we are talking about the fears, they are very justified. However, in today’s world, where our social circles are shrinking, real-world contact is minimized- work from home and remote learning or working are becoming the new norm. It would be rather impractical to think of a scenario where everyone meets their next day or potential partner when they are out for coffee in their PJs and masks, right?”

She added: “If you are comfortable with the medium, sure go ahead and use it. But a lot can be averted or nipped in the bud, irrespective of the medium. When an individual becomes more self-aware and sets some non-negotiable in place and stands up for those values, no matter how comfortable or difficult it might be.”

“Madam. What’s your point of view against the uproar on dating apps?”

“Blaming the dating app may not be entirely correct.”

EPILOGUE

“The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 confined many to their homes with nothing but electronic devices to stay connected with the outside world. As a result, alongside wearing masks and using sanitizer, using dating apps to find like-minded people also became the new normal. If you make a decision in anger it will ruin your life. Can you escape after the murder? No, you can’t, it only happens in movies. Understand that, perfect murder doesn’t exist. There was a famous proverb in forensics. A killer will always leave evidence on the scene. Planning to murder someone and escaping from that will only happen in movies. And it won’t happen in real life. With advanced forensic technology, even with a tiny piece of evidence, they will find the killer. They had brought such an advanced technology development to the police department. If someone makes a mistake then they will be punished for sure.  

MY PERSONAL OPINION

In this generation, we don’t know how love is going. And don’t know how this living together is working out. Living together means they will be together and do everything without marrying. If it didn’t work out, I didn’t know how they are going to another person. Personally, I don’t like this living together concept. And that is my personal opinion.