Nandedh Diaries

April 13, 2018

It is not what it seems. The case is complicated too. Before I came here, constable Sharma, had warned me. The people are fickle and statements are erratic. It seems that I am caught up in a web of pretexts. Some people have confirmed it to be a case of suicide, prima facie. Some people are quiet. Some people are skeptical. Some people are ignorant. Some people are precarious. Some people are afraid. All of them are participative. 

When we reached the scene, the body had been presumptuously manhandled. The team blared at people. The people retaliated, a broil had to be diffused. We were fed with insight, insight to be extremely formal and professional. There seemed no tolerance of any act, that at the will of the villagers was heretic. 

The body was sent for the autopsy. The scene was investigated. There seemed to be no singular evidence of murder or any kind of resistance. But a cradle and a framed picture of a man. The man is the husband, reportedly, and the baby is missing. YES! THE BABY IS MISSING!

Inspector Thakur, upon my request, confirmed from the local police station. The baby was a girl, of 1 month, and the report of her being kidnapped was in the records. One thing gotten right but the investigation, however, was questionable. The case was concluded as an act of a wild beast, thus closed. 

Upon interrogation we have found out that, there had been more than 134 cases of baby girls gone missing. The records blew us away. Our entire investigation became irrelevant. The case we came for was about a suicide but now it had become something else. A serial kidnapping case. 

The villagers were casual about the mishappening. An unmatched amount of belief had consumed them that a wild beast was out in the open. 'Dajjal' they called it. But how could this conclusion be made? There was no concrete evidence that it was a wild beast's action, also not enough evidence to prove that it wasn't. 

It happened at night. The windows has broken panes. There was scratch marks in the pictures of primary investigation. What we could observe was nothing but a woman with a trauma of losing her only child and of her dead husband's early death, with suicidal tendencies. 

But the amount of conceit the authorities have shown is covering these issue of mass murder [presumably] was uncanny. We decided to reside here for the coming days. A lot has to be revealed. I guess, or maybe some help from The Ministry Of Forest has to granted. 

April 17, 2018

The day I am writing this, I have in my hands the autopsy of the dead body. It is a suicide, but the suicide has taken place 2 days before we received the intimation. 

We called the Commissioner and he told us that they got to be informed about the suicide, accidently. YES!

One pleasant night the commissioner ended up colliding with a man, who passed out as soon he collided. He was regained, only to find out that he was a petty thief. He was afraid to core, He was fumbling while he confessed that he had seen a dead body during his latest adventure. The suicide was then submitted to our team, as the area was out of the commissioner's jurisdiction. 

We summoned the thief. Dharmaraj, was his name. He froze at the thought of recalling the heinous scene. In his life had he never a death, let alone a suicide. He kept on weeping and we had to console him. He was young and considered this incident to be redemption. He believed that the vision will torment him for his life. As per doctors, he is suffering from PTSD. We had to be extra polite with him. 

He could not help us much, but his statement was cardinal. We could shut the villagers up, as things were becoming perturbing. They were stubborn and discarded any regret on the loss or the fact that they did not check on the woman after the kidnapping. 

"She was a widow, we could not touch her or see her" said the women

The sheer disobedience and filthy power that they had was a lump in our throat. Our fist used to clinch but in vain. Like sand, the things were slipping out of it. 

We had made our statement of conclusion and we were about to retreat. But one fine night, When I was trying to sleep I saw light. It was coming from the crime scene. There must be someone. I stood near the window and crouched to see clearly. There was a woman in white roaming in the hall with a candle and one small baby in her hand. 

I called the team and rushed to the house. There was nothing. The team dispersed and we started looking for her. Meanwhile, the entire village started waking up with a howl coming from the woods. We were baffled. A boy had gone missing. Mohan, was his name and he was 5 year old and disabled. He belonged to scheduled caste.

The villagers gathered in a giant circle. Our team had retreated and were standing unaware and afraid. They started some mantras in harmony, loudly. The crescendo was torturous. IT SOUNDED LIKE HELL!

The howling from the woods ceased and the villagers became normal. The sarpanch came to me - "This is what happens here, what else do you want"

"There is no animal! The howling was definitely not unhuman!" I added

"Yes! It wasn't, who said it is an animal, it is a beast!"

"What?"

"Yes!"

"Could you explain?"

"Our village is accursed, in the woods there are wizards and 'aughards' they are super strong, they curse the baby girls and the girls once they hear the 'calling' on their own go to them. And no one can stop them! The spirits of the dead here, keep on roaming for eternity"

But this story is not scientific and must we not believe it. We have some days left for the investigation and I am certain I won't give up. My team's strength and trust is collapsing. We are all worried. They might leave before me. I am certain. THEY WILL!

April 21, 2018

I have got a call from my wife, she has received a letter, it has warned her to get me back or our children will die, same way as here. 

Exactly what I had thought. It is no act of wizards or beasts. I had a call with the local gynecologist, she has claimed in fear of death and under coercion of rifle, that the incidents started after the government made female feticide impossible due to strenuous regulations. 

The villagers sacrifice the female infants and call it the act of 'beast'. Yes there are wizards and sadhus covered in ash in the outskirts, they are powerful but as a convention never cross the border. 

The boy who was taken that night, was a bate, as far as I conclude. Being an outcast and abled, he was best to break monotony. 

My team has fled. People are still normal. I cannot provide the statement of doctor as it was under coercion and undue influence. I hereby must retreat too. 

I am not a selfish man. But I care for my family, the villagers are powerful and even if they killed us nobody would know. They have the police, government and public all united. It is impossible to defeat them. There is still no explanation that who was in the house that night. 

Whosoever gets this diary of mine, please do not interfere with the occult as it would destroy your family and life. 

Next week we must give a press conference, at the corpses of baby girls and we all will concur with the villagers' statements.

April 22, 2018

I QUIT!