Supernatural

Professor Vijay Kumar Shastri had felt no limits to his joy at making perhaps one of the most important discoveries of mankind. He danced and jumped with joy when he had the news. This was something surprising and a bit odd for some of his colleagues and juniors. The reason for Professor’s happiness and joy was something which could not be ignored also. The entire team of ASI and other historians and archaeologists had been labouring over an archaeological dig in a remote corner of a Jharkhand village, called Raipur. When the professor had first heard about the bizarre discovery from some of his students, he had just laughed at them. “This just can’t be true.” He had exclaimed.

But when more people started discussing it, he grew curious and started researching the supposed claim. For some years now, the villagers of Raipur had grown up listening to and spreading the legend of the cursed land. The reason they said it was believed to be cursed was because it was all barren. No number of efforts could make it fertile over so many years. There were no trees, no vegetation on that piece of land. Even no animals dared to go on that land. Also, the villagers used to believe it felt like someone was watching them as passed through that piece of land. Moreover, one of the strangest things that used to take place was that vehicles used to face a breakdown or their engines stalled and wouldn’t restart for some time. Also, no cell phones seemed to work there as there was no reception.

Perhaps the most frightening experience the villagers recounted as they passed through that isolated barren land was that it felt like someone was constantly following them. Professor Shastri had also heard these tales and dismissed them as mere speculation and old superstitious beliefs. He along with his juniors Asst. Professors Suman Rao and Professor Arun Sharma were more interested in the archaeological, historical and national significance the find held for them. Just a few days before they got involved, they had heard on the news about the bizarre discovery of a tall minaret-like structure, which seemed to jut out of this place. Upon reaching this place and on further digging they found out that this minaret-like structure was around 8 feet tall and much of it was still buried underground. They measured its height through the use of modern ground penetrating radars and sensing equipment. This had heightened their excitement and they had reported directly to their department that this needed more resources; both in terms of money and people. Though initially, their department was a bit reluctant to believe, when they showed the evidence, the department had to accede.

One thing I nearly forgot to add. The people of this area also experienced mysterious earthquakes, which were quite uncommon for the last 600 hundred years. The last known earthquake occurred at around 1556 A.D. Now, however, every few days, people used to experience massive jolts of the earthquake in this region which was even strange for the seismological experts in the country. The one thing which made it more interesting was that just before each earthquake, according to some people, a loud grumbling sound used to emanate deep from within the earth’s bowels. As if someone was stirring from sleep, or someone wanted to come up to the surface. This naturally created fear and panic among the local villagers. Though according to seismologists, it might have been the sound created by the shifting of two plates. Anyways, they continued with the digging and emboldened by the extra help sent in the form of history students, Professor Shastri was more confident of a momentous discovery. He had claimed according to some, that there lay buried deep within the earth’s womb a magnificent city. Some students and even Assistant Professor Suman were sceptical of this tall claim; but they eventually, got to begrudgingly admire and respect the professor’s instincts and knowledge.

Anyways, the dig was in full swing and people were fully excited in anticipation of what they might find. The media was also showing full interest but they had nothing much to go on as of now, so they had little to report on as of now. It was a bright sunny day and all of the people were busy with their assigned tasks when suddenly Ashish, one of the history students was busy digging when he heard a “clank…………….” He stopped for a second and proceeded to hit the ground with his shovel when he again heard a “clank………....” This time it was distinct and also could be heard a couple of other people with him. All of them stopped their work and called Assistant Professor Suman. Now, Professor Suman was a serious lady and did not take lightly to pranks which were often played by these young fellows quite too often. So, when they called her “must be one of their stupid pranks again”, thought Professor Suman. “I won’t fall for it this time.” She decided with conviction. But the consistent calling of her name made her come out of the research laboratory she was working in.

“It has to be good or all of you would find yourselves in front of Professor Shastri explaining your stupid actions.” Professor Suman warned them with a stern expression.

“No…. No … Ma’am, we think you should come and see this.” Ashish explained defensively.

She glared at him irritably but followed him to the spot he was taking her to. “What is it? She asked.

By this time the other students and some village folk who were helping the archaeological team had also gathered around to watch Ashish get a good berating from Miss Suman. Ashish, on the other hand, notwithstanding the anticipatory glee from his fellow workers, just took the shovel and hit on the spot from where the sound had emanated from. Miss Suman just looked on with a bored expression on her face.

At first, Ashish hit the ground very lightly so no sound came, he was surprised and looked at Miss Suman who was waiting. He again struck the ground, a bit harder this time. Still, no sound erupted. Miss Suman was getting irritated now and said “Look Ashish, you may have tons of time to waste but I don’t, so let me get back to work.”

Ashish looked at her pleadingly and asked for one more chance. Miss Suman said nothing and just stood there. This time Ashish hit the ground a bit harder with the shovel. Now, Miss Suman also heard and she jumped in surprise. She immediately went and reported this to Professor Shastri. He was excited and went to the spot and asked Ashish to again hit the same spot. It was getting dark but still, many of the fellow students and villagers had gathered in advance to see if anything new happens. This time the sound was extraordinarily loud. It felt like rolling thunder and seemed to bounce off the whole area. All the people present there were startled and taken aback a bit. Professor Shastri said “I knew it. Let’s start digging this place from tomorrow.” With that, the entire group retired to their quarters.

On that very same night, the village priest, Pandit Brij Mohan Pandey, had a strange and terrifying vision. He saw dark clouds looming over the village, and people getting killed in mysterious ways. Terror and fear stalked the environment. He got scared by envisioning all this and opened his eyes. Everything seemed normal to him at the moment. However, he had this feeling that this was just a lull before the storm. He had to do something about it as he had also heard about the excavation and the find. He had to stop them somehow. He decided to go to this place and demand that all further work be stopped. So, the next day, he went with his entourage who he had managed to convince of the impending doom. They trooped their way near the excavation site and asked to see the leader. At first, Professor Suman and Arun tried to stop them, but they were adamant about talking with Professor Shastri. When he heard all the commotion he came out of his tent and saw a tall man dressed in priestly clothes animatedly arguing with his juniors. He strode ahead and asked “What’s the matter? Why are all these people here?” Pandit Brij Mohan Pandey knew that this was the man and said “Sir, yeh kaam rok dijiye. Yeh shaitan ko jagaane jaisa hai.” The professor was taken aback at this sudden outburst. He said “yeh kya keh rahe hain aap punditji?” Then the priest again said “Yeh kaam rok dijye nahi to anarth ho jaayega.” The professor could see that people were a bit startled by this and also were getting a bit apprehensive. Especially, the villagers, who were there to help.

“Lekin kyun?” Professor Shastri asked.

Pandit Brij Mohan Pandey looked at him incredulously and replied “Yeh zameen shraapit hain.” He looked straight ahead while replying to the professor. The professor could not believe what he had just heard. He thought that there were no limits to blind superstitious beliefs even in the 21st century. All this time there was a growing underlying current of tension and fear which was apparent to everybody, except the professor. Both Suman and Arun looked at each other and then at the professor wondering how can he look so calm and relaxed. Any moment now things might turn for the worse. Even the students and helpers also looked a bit apprehensive. However, the professor was a past master at handling tough situations. He somehow managed to convince the village priest and also the villagers that nothing untoward would befall them; and also, he assured them extra pay if they cooperated. His assistants just looked at him incredulously as if he knew something which they didn’t.

The village priest had to begrudgingly bow down to the professor and had to accede to his request. He knew this place needed financial assistance because of the destruction caused due to the devastating earthquakes this place seemed to experience these days. However, he also knew that this expedition would prove to be the doom for everyone. On the other hand, work started with more vigour and enthusiasm the next day. Within a few days, Professor Shastri, Rao, Assistant Prof Sharma and all the people were stunned to find that a whole city was buried deep underground. They had dug up a whole city where houses, buildings, water drainage, granaries, houses, temples and palaces had been built meticulously and with careful planning. The more they excavated, the more they were amazed to find pieces of exquisite pottery, carved monuments, brilliantly engraved structures and pillars. Moreover, they also found inscriptions engraved in gold and silver on the palace walls and walls of all major buildings. There was no end to the thrill, joy and excitement for Professors Shastri, Suman Rao and Arun Sharma. Even the students and the villagers were also excited, although some of the villagers were a bit apprehensive about the find.

“This is a momentous discovery.” Professor Shastri exclaimed.

“Just like the Greek, the Sumerian, the Egyptian, the Celtic and Norse civilizations, we have discovered for the first time remnants of mythical civilization in India also.” He further continued.

“But Professor, how can you be so sure of this?” asked Suman Rao.

He looked at all the people waiting for his reply and smiled at them. He said, “I have taken some photographs of the inscriptions from the walls and sent them to a linguist who is an expert in deciphering ancient texts.” He replied.“Mr Rajesh Singh has been working for more than 30 years with the archaeological department and has helped in deciphering many ancient texts. It was he who helped in deciphering the ancient Tamil texts in recent finds south of Chennai.” Professor Shastri continued.

“It was he who immediately sent me an email stating that these texts belong to one of the civilizations that supposedly belonged to more than 9,000 years ago and according to ancient Hindu texts supposed to be from our mythology.” He further added.

There was a stunned silence for a few minutes among the people and then excitement burst out. Everybody started congratulating Professor Shastri but he humbly reminded everyone that it was a combined team effort and credit does not go to any single person.

The next few days and weeks went in getting the media and the world’s attention towards this archaeological find. The whole nation and the world were amazed at such a brilliant discovery. Especially, the images of the golden and silver engraved inscriptions captured the attention of all. Furthermore, according to Mr Rajesh Singh, these inscriptions were both a welcome and a warning to all those who visited the ancient city. This ancient kingdom and city belonged to one of the most brutal, tyrannical, megalomaniac Asur rulers, Narkasur. According to ancient texts, ‘Narkasur’ was one of the most brutal, strong, evil rulers who ruled his kingdom with utmost cruelty and ruthlessness. He also terrified the neighbouring cities and kingdoms. Furthermore, according to legends, he had also conquered Heaven and all the gods were terrified of him as he was said to be unconquerable and immortal. This was said that he got as a boon from praying to Lord Shiva for 9000 days standing on one leg. The only catch was that he could only be killed if his mother who was a devout lady could only be the cause of his death. Fortunately for ‘Narkasur’, and unfortunately for others his mother had already expired when he was only a toddler. His father, another fierce Asur king has imbibed all the powers and qualities through which ‘Narkasur, had become such a cruel man. According to legends, it was only after ‘Lord Vishnu’ had taken on the avatar of his mother did ‘Narkasur’ acquiescence and it was only then that ‘Lord Vishnu’ could slay him. For days the whole world was witness to an epic coming from a third-world country. Earlier on, people only knew about the evidence from the Western archaeological sites about the ancient mythologies and gods and goddesses. Now, however, evidence of a mythological civilization coming from the East was something they had not imagined.

Now, the village head priest, Brij Mohan Pandey when came to know about this find he was all the more terrified. He had heard from his grandparents and all the elders of the village about the legend of Narkasur. How cruel this Asur was. He had also heard that when finally, Narkasur had been vanquished, he had said while in his death throes “I will once again come back and complete my unfinished task.” Pandit Brij Mohan knew what this ‘Asur’s unfinished task was. It was to establish an empire of darkness, misery, sorrow and untold torture over the whole world. He also knew that it was his family who were the keepers of this secret for so many generations and had been instrumental in defeating and destroying the evil tyrant.

So, with all this knowledge and with the responsibility of saving his village and perhaps the whole world from impending doom, he once again visited Professor Shastri. “Panditiji, main apka bahut aadar samman karta hoon. Lekin aajke zamaane mein yeh kaisi baate kar rahe hain aap?” A flustered and mystified Professor Shastri asked Pandit Brij Mohan.

Pandit Brij Mohan replied “ zamaana chahe koi bhi ho lekin is sansaar mein kuch aisi cheeze and taakate hai jinke saath hame khilwaar nahi karna chahiye.” “Khaaskar jab humein inke baar mein gyan na ho to.” He further added. He also said that this discovery is very good and important for India as it would enhance its position in the world as one of the oldest nations with a deep cultural heritage. However, he also recounted everything he knew about the legend of Narkasur, his demise and his dying promise. The professor just looked at him incredulously and said that now the whole matter is out of his hands as the Archaeological Survey of India and other well-known archaeologists like Professor Sudhanshu Chakravorty, Dr Mahesh Verma, Peter Hancock, Dr Robert Stolz, the eminent seismologist and author of the book on the “Sphinx and its mysteries, and other eminent personalities have also shown an interest in coming here. Pandit Brij Mohan then knew that further argument or pleas would not help as truly the matter was out of the professor’s hands. He then humbly took the professor’s leave and was walking back to his house when out of nowhere he could sense and see that Kallu, the village eccentric was silently following him.

Pandit Brij Mohan Pandey stopped and turned around and saw Kallu standing a few feet away giving him a lurid grin. What made Pandit Brij Mohan surprised was the wild maniacal look in Kallu’s eyes.

“Kallu tu kya raha hain yahan pe?” asked pandit Brij Mohan.

Kallu did not answer but kept on staring at him, the unnerving part was that Kallu never blinked and responded to Pandit Brij Mohan’s repeated questioning. He just kept on standing with that grin on his face.

Finally, he said “Who aa raha hai. Tum sab maroge.”

Pandit Brij Mohan was startled by this savage and altogether bizarre claim made by Kallu.

“Kaun aa raha hain. Aur kaun hame marega.”

Kallu maniacally started laughing. “Wahi jisne apni kasam poori karni hai.” With that, he ran off into the darkness. Now Pandit Brij Mohan grew all the more alarmed and apprehensive. How could this village fool know about this? Anyways he went back deep in thought and trepidation to his house.

He did not notice that someone was watching him all the way and following him to his house. As soon as Pandit Brij Mohan reached his house he suddenly heard a strong thump behind him. He turned back he was terrified at what he saw. Before he could react the thing which terrified Pandit Brij Mohan so much attacked him suddenly. The next day few of the villagers found Pandit Brij Mohan’s body lying on the street brutally mauled and all the clothes torn away from his body. The police were immediately informed about this and it created a lot of fear and tension in the village.

News of the death of the village priest reached even the archaeological dig. As everybody knows news spreads like wildfire in rural areas. This created an environment of tension and fear among the villagers working there. There were murmurs of the claims made by the late Pandit Brij Mohan Pandey coming true. The strange thing was during the autopsy it was found that there were sharp teeth-like bite marks on Pandit Brij Mohan’s neck. They were more like fang-like bite marks. Also, according to the autopsy reports Pandit Brij Mohan Pandey had died due to a massive blood loss. Another weird aspect of this case was there were no blood stains around or near the body of the deceased. Though there were a few blood spots on the tattered clothes but that was all. It seemed that someone had sucked the entire blood out of the priest’s body while he was still alive. Although the police were treating it as some kind of animal attack; however, the village elders and others who knew about the legend were of some other opinion.

“Shaitan jaag gaya hai.”

“Ab woh apni kasam poori karega, kisiko nahi chorega.” These were the kind of rumours that were going around in the village. All this was also affecting the archaeological site. People were not willing to work. Many of them believed that the village priest was right and that they shouldn’t have dug up the place. As this was having a bad effect on the morale of the workers and even Professor Shastri’s staff also, the professor had to intervene. He ordered that the remuneration for all the villagers should be doubled as this work had to be finished in the next couple of weeks. The villagers had to accede begrudgingly as they required the money. So, the work started with renewed vigour. Though there were reports of some weird happenings like the lights of the camp would go off all by itself even when there was no reason for it. Or, some weird noises coming from within the palace walls which terrified the villagers etc. Despite all these rumours and speculation, Professor Shastri was adamant about getting the work completed. Finally, the day arrived when India and the whole world came to know of its majestic and glorious cultural heritage. From all over the nation and the world media for the first time gave attention to this hitherto unknown place and it was highlighted in all the major television networks, newspapers, social media outlets and other news magazines. Distinguished experts like archaeologists, scientists, and historians from all over the country and world started visiting this tiny little town of Raipur. This was a grand spectacle for some and it was a shining moment for India. Especially, Professor Shastri and the rest of his team were ecstatic over this dig. Every time the professor took extreme pleasure and pride when he gave guided tours to visitors.

By this time, Rajesh Singh had also managed to decipher the inscriptions. He was rather taken aback and shocked at the translation. He quickly sent the translated message to Professor Shastri elaborating on the warning and the deep implications behind it. The Professor too was shocked to read the transcript, and this also increased his worries as if this translation went public, it would create mass panic and fear. So, he gave specific instructions to his team members not to discuss or disclose the meaning of the inscription to anyone.

A Few days later, when all the hullabaloo had died down Ashish and Vipul secretly went to the dig site. As the professor had specifically instructed that no one should visit the dig site after sunset without his prior knowledge and permission. There were also rumours of

a grave being found at the dig site. Speculations were that this gold-plated and adorned with rubies and pearls was that of the demon king himself. Although, Professor Shastri refused to comment on this.

“We need more specific proof on this before we can come to any conclusion.” This was the standard statement of the professor whenever he was asked about the grave. Anyways, we were talking about Ashish and Vipul who had gone to the dig site and had taken a camera to record the site and its findings. They had roamed the whole of the site clicking photos and giving commentaries on specific parts of the palace. Especially, they were excited to be near the vaunted grave of the supposedly demon king. For one moment Vipul’s eyes were twinkling with excitement just looking at the still glittering jewels adorning the grave. He asked Ashish to click some photographs of him standing on the gravesite while they were enjoying a smoke.

Now, as is common in such kinds of situations, the weather suddenly changed for the worse. It started raining heavily and there were heavy lightning and thunder flashes. Both Ashish and Vipul were surprised at this sudden change in the weather. A few minutes ago, everything was normal. Vipul, however, not bothered with this asked Ashish to start taking photos.

Ashish knew his friend and reluctantly complied. While taking photos Ashish noticed a weird thing happening behind the place where Vipul was standing. He saw a thin blue light emanating from the grave all of a sudden. He thought at first, that it must be the effect of the lightning. But when he again looked through the lens this time the light had grown a bit bigger and brighter within a few seconds. He then noticed a bizarre phenomenon taking place before his eyes and his friend Vipul was unaware of all this during this time. What Ashish saw terrified him. He saw a human apparition taking shape in the fire that was at least 8 feet tall. What made it more frightening was that this apparition was half-human, half-animal and all adorned with shiny jewels. Another thing that frightened Ashish was that this entity seemed to be fixated on Vipul, who was unaware of all this.

Ashish, at first, could not believe what he was seeing but when gradually, the entity started taking a terrifying form; it was then that it frightened him. He tried to warn his friend.

“Vipul ………. tere peeche dekh!

Vipul meanwhile, was busy being the focus of attention through Ashish’s camera lens. So, he hardly took notice of the impending danger behind him. Despite Ashish’s numerous attempts to warn him, Vipul did not bother to look behind him.

It was after a few moments that Vipul finally started paying attention to Ashish’s desperate gestures to make him look behind him. As he turned Vipul was frozen with fear. He just stood there mesmerized by a huge half-human, half-animal-like entity with red blazing eyes. These eyes seemed to bore directly into Vipul and mesmerize him.

“Bhaag Vipul……………….” Ashish screamed.

But it felt as if Vipul couldn’t hear him. He just kept staring into the apparition’s eyes. Another important thing to mention here is that since no one knew that they have come into this place so nobody knew about their predicament.

“Bhaag Vipul, wahan pe khare mat reh….” Ashish again screamed.

However, Vipul somehow was frozen and could not move an inch. Suddenly, in a flash, Vipul realized how perilous his position was, but before he could react the entity bent down and dug its fang-like teeth into Vipul’s neck. Vipul was taken by surprise and paralyzed with fear; even Ashish seemed to be too frightened to go and help his friend. He just stood there trembling with fear.

“Vipul………………………………” He screamed for the last time.

In a few minutes, the entity had completely sucked all the blood and life out of Vipul. It then threw the lifeless body of Vipul like a rag-doll to a side. Ashish took a look at Vipul’s shrunken and withered corpse and was terrified. He knew that there was no time to grieve, rather it was time save his own life. So, he ran towards the entrance of the dig. While trying to save himself Ashish dropped the camera and it kept on filming. Before Ashish could reach the entrance, the entity was upon him and again dug its fang-like teeth into Ashish’s neck and sucked the life out of him. Ashish just fell to the ground like a lifeless, withered corpse; not knowing how was this possible.

Meanwhile, Assistant Professor Suma Rao was looking for Ashish and Vipul to run some errands for the professor. She looked for them in their tents but could not find them there. She asked around but no one seemed to know where the duo were. That seemed odd to Suman Rao. As Ashish always informed her about his whereabouts. Also, their phones seemed to be switched off. This seemed to be surprising for Professor Suman Rao; as Ashish’s phone was never switched off. She asked all her colleagues, but no one had any knowledge about them.

“Kahin pe daaru pe rahe honge dono.” She murmured and went to complete the errand herself.

The next day, she again went looking for Ashish and Vipul; but, this time also nobody knew about their whereabouts. This seemed a bit odd to Assistant Professor Suman and she decided to report this matter to Professor Shastri. “They must be here about somewhere. After all, they are young blood and must be pretty thrilled at being part of such a momentous discovery. They must be celebrating somewhere.” “Don’t worry, they will be back.” The professor assured Suman. He knew Suman always projected a hard stance from the outside; but from the inside, she was soft and kind and had a maternal instinct for all the young staff. Somewhat reluctantly, Suman had to accede and went away, however, there was a nagging feeling inside that was saying that something was not right.

In a few hours, Professor Suman’s feelings were proved right when someone at the dig screamed. The Professor along with other members of the team were startled at first and then became alarmed and curious when someone again screamed. They rushed to the spot and saw a couple of villagers standing around and gesticulating wildly towards the spot where the rumoured ‘Narkasur’s Tomb was found. When Professor Suman, Professor Shastri and the rest of the people neared the spot, everyone gave out a gasp. They could see Vipul’s shrunken and withered lifeless body thrown aside like an unwanted piece of rag cloth. The terrifying thing about Vipul’s corpse was its eyes were wide open in terror and the whole body was white; as if someone had sucked the entire blood from the body. Professor Suman again gasped and someone also had taken a sharp intake of breath looking at this grisly sight. Professor Shastri was taken aback. Before he could understand what had happened, someone again shouted from the rear of the group. Everyone was startled and turned towards the location from where the scream had originated from. Here they found Ashish’s corpse. Now everyone was taken aback. Here also, Ashish’s corpse had the same signs as those of Vipul’s. His eyes were also open wide in terror, his skin complexion was pale and it seemed that both of them had withered and decayed within a few minutes of their death. Everyone was now terrified and apprehensive about the situation. Even Professor Shastri looked worried.

Anyways, the police were informed and they did their routine investigations. The Police Officer in Charge, Inspector Bhairon Singh was a sharp individual. He could immediately see a pattern between the deaths of the village priest and these two recent deaths. In all three cases, the victims had sharp incisions on their necks; as if some forked animal had attacked them. But what kind of animal would attack them and then suck out all the blood from their bodies? That was the question that intrigued Inspector Bhairon Singh.

Also, according to initial medical findings, all three seemed to be victims of animal attacks. Hence, the Wildlife Department was roped in the investigation. Meanwhile, in the archaeological team, there was an environment of stress, tension, wild speculations and apprehension. Some members believed the villagers that it was the work of the ‘Devil’; whereas, others were thinking that some new animal species might have been the cause of their deaths. As the whole village of Raipur was surrounded by thick forests and shrubs.

One thing I forgot to mention was on the night Ashish and Vipul were attacked, Paramjeet Sengupta, the renowned paranormal investigator and researcher also had a strange vision. He was working on a pet project of his in his plush home in Salt Lake City that night. When suddenly, the window of his study room flung open with such a velocity that it startled him. He thought it must be the wind and went and closed the window. After a few minutes, the window again flung wide open. He again went and closed the window. This time, he shut it tight and went back. In a few moments, the window again flung open with such a velocity that the glass pane broke and fell on the floor shattering it into a million pieces. This time Paramjeet Sengupta was startled and also a bit curious as there was no strong wind blowing, then how could the window keep on opening by itself? He went near the window and was taken aback for a minute. Here he saw, an apparition of a half-animal, half-human and it was looking at him with fierce eyes. The apparition just lasted there for a few seconds and then vanished into thin air. Paramjeet was surprised at this phenomenon but he quickly understood that something was wrong somewhere. He had to find out where this was happening. The next day, he read in the newspapers about the discovery of the ancient city of Raipur. Now, he realized that his vision was somehow linked to this place. He also read few bizarre deaths had taken place in the village of Raipur and in the archaeological team which was baffling for the police. Here he found the connection. So he decided to visit the village of Raipur and meet with Professor Shastri, whom he knew previously.

Meanwhile, in the village, strange occurrences started to take place. Especially, the women always used to feel that someone was following them and watching them all the time. Even when they were having their baths and private moments also. This was disturbing their harmony and mental peace as a result. People also were starting to behave strangely. I mean, people who were earlier known for their hospitality and good-loving nature were becoming intense short-tempered, foul-mouthed and aggressive at the slightest provocation. Things started to take a turn for the worse when the cattle started dying all by themselves. There were not afflicted by any kind of diseases or infections. Veterinarians were all confused and surprised at the onset of this mysterious malaise which was killing all the previously healthy livestock and cattle of the village. Even in the archaeological team, people were becoming grumpy and short-tempered. Sporadic arguments and fights started to erupt among the crew members and the villagers.

The police, on the other hand, were still clueless about the murders as were the wildlife department about the origin of the bizarre bite marks on the victims’ necks. All of this was mysterious and bizarre and nobody had any clue as to what was going on. Assistant Professor Suman Rao, on the other, was devastated by the sudden and tragic demise of Ashish and Vipul. Especially, Ashish, as she considered him her younger brother. She was beyond herself with grief and shock, she was also baffled at the manner these young men had died and frustrated at the inability of the authorities to find their killer. One thing I completely forgot to mention here is that while Ashish and Vipul’s bodies had been discovered, Suman had also found the camera lying discarded on one side of the archaeological site. She now decided to see what secrets could this camera unveil as to their deaths. She took out the SD card from the camera and inserted it into her laptop.

The first few clips were of Vipul posing in front of the tomb and Ashish cheering from somewhere down below. She was moved by the joy and innocence of these young men. Gradually, she could see the eerie light forming behind Vipul. At first, she thought it was some camera fault, but then when she looked closely, she started to get frightened as the video clip progressed and she saw the apparition taking the shape of a half-human, half-animal form and then attacking a hapless Vipul. She could also see the surrounding areas rushing by in a blur as Ashish kept on running until the camera slipped and fell from his grasp. Finally, she could see how the entity attacked Ashish and killed him. Suman Rao was frozen with fear. She sat trembling, not knowing what to do. Cold sweat broke all over her body, after a long deliberation, she decided to show the clips to Professor Shastri. Once she showed the clips to Professor Shastri, he too was appalled and bamboozled. However, he knew his superiors would not believe him and tried to cover the whole incident. “Let’s not discuss this with others.” He said in a quavering voice.

“But why?” asked Suman, a bit bewildered.

“Because no one would believe this and we would be made laughing stock in front of the whole world.” Professor Shastri answered.

Suman looked dejected. Professor Shastri warned her not to say anything about this to the police also as they too would not believe them. He rather decided to send this to Paramjeet Sengupta.

Meanwhile, Rajesh Singh, the lingual expert had deciphered some more inscriptions and was horrified at what he saw. He quickly decided to deliver the translated transcript personally to Professor Shastri, rather than sending it over the internet. So, he decided to go directly to Raipur to deliver this to Professor Shastri in person. As he was driving down the long distance from New Delhi to Raipur, he saw something terrible in the middle and that was the last time Rajesh Singh was seen alive by anyone. Professor Shastri was shaken when he heard of Rajesh Singh’s death. His death was also similar to that of the other deaths. There were fang-like bite marks on his neck and his corpse too was withered and shrunken and all blood seemed to have been sucked out by something or someone. The Police were completely baffled at this latest death. Time seemed to have stood still in Raipur and everything seemed to move in slow motion. Suman Rao was fed up with all the waiting and negative responses from the police that she decided to investigate herself the phenomenon. She knew that Professor Shastri would not allow her and the police would not extend any kind of cooperation towards her efforts to find out about the truth. So, she decided to go to the archaeological site all by herself and try to uncover the mystery of this entity. That was also the last time anyone heard or saw Assistant Professor Suman Rao, walking towards the archaeological site in heavy rainfall, with her head held high and clutching a camera in her hand. When Professor Shastri was made aware of Assistant Professor Suman Rao’s death, he was completely broken from the inside. However, he had to put up a brave front in front of the rest of the staff who were already demoralized and fearful from the latest series of bizarre events that were taking place all around them.

The Police were also under intense pressure to solve these mysterious deaths that were quickly becoming a national sensation. Inspector Bhairon Singh particularly felt the heat of his superiors and this further exasperated him.

He had already established a pattern in all the deaths and it also seemed strange to him that most of the deaths happened in the archaeological team or of people associated with the expedition. So, he decided to interrogate Professor Shastri about this.

“Why did you decide to come here Professor?” asked the inspector.

“Because of the accidental discovery.” Replied Professor Shastri.

“How was the reaction of the villagers the first time you set foot inside this town?”

The professor looked to be distant but somehow recollected how the people of the area were happy about their coming here.

Inspector Bhairon Singh then asked, “Why didn’t you stop when the priest was killed?” Professor Shastri was taken aback by this sudden change in the tone of the inspector.

“Because I did not want to stop this momentous discovery and the whole world was waiting for the news of this great discovery.” He replied.

“Okay, but then why didn’t you stop when Ashish and Vipul were killed?”

Professor Shastri just looked blankly at Inspector Bhairon Singh.

The inspector knew that the professor was telling the truth but still, he had to explore and cover all aspects relating to the case. He could also feel the pain the professor was going through with all these unnecessary and tragic deaths, Especially, Assistant Professor Suman Rao’s death. He seemed to have lost all his energy and enthusiasm about the project with her death. When Inspector Bhairon saw that the professor was exceptionally nervous and worried after the interview he asked him

“What’s the matter, professor? You look a bit tense.”

The Professor tried to deliberately ignore the inspector but his persistence overcame him. The professor said if he told the inspector what was nagging, he wouldn’t believe him and rather laugh at him.

“Try me, Professor.” Said, Bhairon Singh.

Then the professor with extreme hesitation showed him the video. At first, it was hard to believe Bhairon Singh, but he was a police officer of a different kind. He could understand that there were certain things which have no scientific explanation. “What do you intend to do with it, professor? As I can’t arrest an entity and the whole department is going to think that I have gone cuckoo in the head in this posting.” He said this to make the professor understand his predicament.

The Professor understood him and now knew what he had to do. He called Paramjeet Sengupta, who was already waiting for the call. He invited Paramjeet to come over to Raipur.

The first thing Paramjeet noticed when he reached Raipur was that the whole atmosphere had heaviness attached to it. The environment seemed laden with doom and grief. Wherever he encountered people he saw expressions of fear, anxiety, and conflict clouding their normally jovial faces. He had done his research on the ‘Narkasur’ myth and with a bit more research had found out that there was an ancient manuscript in the temple that contained a sacred ‘mantra’ that could defeat and once again kill ‘Narkasur’.

“I need to talk to the temple priest.” This was the first thing he said when he met Professor Shastri.

After long deliberation, the temple’s priest’s younger brother agreed to meet him. When he heard that Paramjeet knew about the ancient mantra and was willing to help to get rid of this menace, the younger brother agreed to support him in his mission. Even the professor was willing to lend his support and Inspector Bhairon Singh too joined in the effort. Paramjeet was a bit surprised at the police officer’s belief and willingness to join in the effort to get rid of this supernatural malaise.

 “I am a different kind of officer.” Replied Bhairon Singh with a smile.

Anyways, all four of them then trooped on to the archaeological site and with the help of the ancient text and the divine mantras were successful in defeating the supernatural entity and sending it back to hell. Surprisingly, from that day, even Kallu was nowhere to be seen.

“This has been the weirdest case of my life.” Inspector Bhairon remarked.

“This is nothing, Inspector, there are a lot of things which we don’t understand because we can’t explain them scientifically so we tend to disregard them,” Paramjeet replied.

Professor Shastri was grateful that Paramjeet agreed to come over and help and he was also obliged to Inspector Bhairon Singh for believing in him.

“Oh! It was my duty, Professor.” Blushed Inspector Bhairon Singh.

While Paramjeet Sengupta just humbly acknowledged and politely took his leave from Raipur for his next assignment. It would be somewhere where he would be completely challenged mentally and emotionally by the supernatural force there. Anyways, that would be another tale.