The Missing Children Mystery

Inspector Anita Kelkar paid a visit to Dayanand Ashram for Children to investigate the mysterious disappearance of children in Pune. Many foster parents marched into the police station with the complaint against the Ashram. They said that the Ashram had cheated them. They selected a child and submitted the necessary papers for adoption. The Ashram gave them children other than they originally selected. She decided to investigate the case. She took along a few constables with her for the inquiry. The Warden Mrs. Renu Joshi welcomed her and showed her around the orphanage. Anita saw the young kids playing with each other. Her heart swelled up with maternal affection for them. She wanted to adopt every child and give them a good life. Mrs.Joshi told her about the functioning of the Ashram. Anita saw a young girl of ten peeping at her. She smiled at her. The girl responded with a lovely smile that highlighted the dimples on her cheeks.

Anita stopped outside her room. She said, " Hi! I am Inspector Anita Kelkar. Would you like to be my friend?" The girl folded her hands and said, " Namaste, Madam. My name is Radhika. I would love to have you as my friend." She extended her hand of friendship. Anita was quick to notice that Radhika looked at Mrs.Joshi for her approval. She seemed to be afraid of that woman. Mrs.Joshi smiled at her and did not object to her friendship with Anita. The latter could sense that something was wrong with Radhika. She wanted to talk to her, but Mrs.Joshi signaled her to be quiet.

Anita had caught her in the act. However, she pretended to ignore it.

Radhika asked her to come in. Anita entered her room followed by Mrs.Joshi. Radhika pulled up a chair for her. Mrs.Joshi's phone rang at that moment. She excused herself and went out to talk.

Anita asked her, " What is bothering you, my dear child? I think you want to say something. Are these people treating you well?" Radhika spoke in a hushed voice. She said, "This is not an ordinary orphanage. I can't tell you everything now. I have recorded everything in my diary. I have hidden it in my cupboard. Let me fetch it for you." Radhika took out her diary and kept it inside one of her fairy tales book. Anita watched out for the warden's arrival. Radhika wrapped the book in a brown paper and handed it over to Anita. She gave her a note along with the book. Anita pocketed the note with a smile. Mrs.Joshi returned after attending the call. She said, "I am sorry for the delay. I had an important call. I see your little friend has given you a gift."

Anita didn't want to get Radhika into trouble. She said, "Actually, I told her about my seven years old son, Ashwin. He is fond of reading books. Radhika gave me a book for Ashwin. If you don't mind, I would like to take it home." " Radhika has done the right thing by giving her book as a gift, " said the warden, " The question of objection does not arise." Anita left with Mrs. Joshi after saying goodbye to Radhika. The Warden introduced her to all the inmates. Anita asked them a few questions before leaving the place.

After reaching the police station, she took out the note given by Radhika. She had written:

" Please save us from these devils. They beat us mercilessly and starve us quite often. Mrs. Joshi is the most wicked woman I have ever seen. Please read the diary for further details. We want to go back to our parents."

Anita frowned after reading the note. " This orphanage is murkier than its appearance, " she thought. She opened the diary and started reading it.

Radhika was waiting for her mother to pick her up from the school. A sleek and shining BMW halted in front of her. A couple of masked men abducted her forcefully. Her pleas for help went in vain as she fainted due to chloroform.

When she woke up, she saw herself surrounded by crying children. All of them shouted " Mummy! Papa! We want to go home." A mean looking man entered the room. He scared the children by cracking a whip. There was a pin drop silence. They cuddled each other for comfort. The goons laughed at them. They dragged the children to different rooms. Radhika was left alone with a twelve-year-old boy.

She buried her head among her knees and started crying. The boy whose name was Rakesh consoled her. He assured her that they would escape from this prison and fetch the police. He waited for the right opportunity. One of the men brought them food. He kept the plates before them and locked them in. Rakesh advised her not to touch the food. He noticed an open window and saw that no one was around. He clambered out of the open window and helped her to get out safely. They did not notice a watchdog standing outside their room. It started barking upon seeing the kids. They were shivering with fear as it snarled at them. It's barking alerted the gangsters. One of the men pulled out his gun. He fired at Rakesh killing him on the spot. He turned his gun towards Radhika. Mrs.Joshi intervened and whispered something to him. The wicked woman slapped her for her misdemeanor. She ordered the men to tie her up and lock her in a dark room. Radhika mentioned all the atrocities they committed on the poor children.

Anita was horrified to learn about the rampant child abuse and trafficking.

She stopped reading further. She had to rescue those children and find out the main culprit. She turned to page one. Radhika had filled in her details like parents'name and phone number. Anita called her father and said, " Mr.Kashyap, We have found out your daughter. Please come to the police station immediately." Radhika's father was delighted. He came with his wife within an hour. Anita went to The Ashram with them. She was in for a rude shock. The Ashram was locked. The parents were anxious to get back their daughter who had been missing for fifteen days. Anita searched the entire area. She discovered Radhika's semi-naked dead body hidden amongst the bushes. The girl had been raped and murdered. Anita called out her parents who came running to the spot. Anita couldn't believe her eyes. She had spoken to Radhika before a couple of hours. Radhika's father accused her of his daughter's murder. He blamed her for leaving Radhika behind with those monsters. She wished she had died instead of Radhika. She regained her composure. She thought, " I must not let my emotions affect my duty. I have to find out the mastermind of the child trafficking racket. Radhika, I promise you that I won't spare your offender. I will make sure to pack him to hell." The grieving parents left for the hospital with their daughter's corpse for the autopsy. Anita started searching for a clue where she found Radhika's body. She discovered a pink colored silk scarf.

She had recognized it. She didn't want to believe it. " This can't be true, " she muttered under her breath, " I must not jump to any conclusion without adequate proof."

She had done another foolish thing out of anxiety. She was all alone in the deserted area. Her mobile rang snapping her out of her reverie. Senior Inspector Prashant Kelkar had called her. He was her husband as well. They fell in love with each other when they joined the police. Their families consented to their marriage.

" Where the hell did you go?" he thundered, " Why didn't you tell me you were going out? I was worried about you. Anita smiled at her husband's concern. She never ventured out without informing him.

She quickly apologized to him and updated him on the child trafficking case. He was taken aback when he learned about the tragedy.

He said, " Wait for me. I will be coming within fifteen minutes. Don't venture out alone in search of clues."

Before she could disconnect the call, someone whacked her on her head. She dropped her mobile and blacked out. Prashant kept saying hello, but there was no response. He panicked and immediately traced the location through The GPS.

When Anita regained her consciousness, she had a throbbing pain in her head. She found herself locked in a room. She was inside the deserted Ashram. Her sixth sense told her to search for a way out immediately. She ran towards each room tapping on all the walls. When she entered the office, she saw plenty of files lying scattered. She picked them up and came out. The smell of petrol permeated the Ashram. Anita was scared. She desperately searched for a way to escape. Acrid smoke overpowered her as she gasped for breath. Someone had tried to burn her alive in the Ashram. She fought her way to the front door. Flames engulfed the verandah and the entrance. Anita went back to the office. She found a trap door below the swiveling chair. She opened it and managed to escape just in time. Prashant arrived shortly with the constables. He saw her coming out of the burning Ashram. She carried a bunch of files and ran towards her husband. He hugged her and said, " Thank God! I am relieved to see you. I thought that I had lost you forever. I wouldn't have forgiven myself for coming late. You should know that I still love you more than ever. Promise me that you won't venture out alone." Their lips met in a long passionate kiss. They came out of their brief romance to concentrate on the case. The constables had called for fire extinguishers. They arrived in no time and put out the fire.

Anita and Prashant went back to work. They started checking the files. They were speechless when they read about forged documents used for adoption. They discovered an endless list of crimes ranging from stealing babies from the hospital to child trafficking and abuse. Anita asked Constable Ram Singh to fetch a file of missing children report. She confirmed her suspicion that the Ashram supplied kidnapped children for adoption. The Dayanand Ashram had an account with The Imperial Bank. Anita found out the identity of the person responsible for handling the Ashram's business. Anita did not want to believe it. However, all the evidence pointed towards a person who was very close to her. Prashant started at her in disbelief when she told him about the criminal. They discussed a plan to make the criminal confess to his or her crime. They sought permission from the police commissioner who gladly gave his consent.

Anita's elder sister Rashmi came along with her husband Vedant Kamat on the following day to the police station. Rashmi looked stunned to see her sister alive. Anita said, " I think you are not too pleased to see me. What brings you here?"

Rashmi cleared her throat and said, " My son Utkarsh has not returned home from school since last evening. I received a bloodstained shirt with a note from the kidnapper. He asked me to confess to my crimes, or else he would kill my son. I admit that I killed Radhika after Vedant raped her. I wanted to earn lots of money without straining myself. My friend Renu Joshi suggested that we could start a fake NGO and supply kids to the childless couples. I registered my NGO as Dayanand Ashram. I started kidnapping children. I never called their anxious parents for ransom. I did earn lots of money. I did not want to kill you. I called up one of my henchmen to set fire to the Ashram. You know the rest of the story." Anita said, " You are such a great mother. You are willing to go to jail for the sake of your son. Both of you deserve to win Padma Bhushan for your noble deeds. You didn't think twice before abducting the children of other people. Where was your maternal instinct when you killed Radhika? Why did you allow that son of a bitch to rape her?" Rashmi and Vedanta hung their heads in shame. They disclosed everything about their criminal activities. Anita brought Utkarsh to face his parents. Rashmi came to hug him. He pushed her away with pure hatred in his eyes. He cried, " I hate both of you. I wish both of you were dead. I am not going to touch that filthy money of yours." Rashmi cried her heart out. Vedant regretted raping the minor. The constables handcuffed them and led them away. The police got into action without wasting any moment. The kidnapped children were rescued from their foster homes and reunited with their parents. The police arrested all the criminals including Mrs.Joshi for child trafficking forgery and kidnapping.

The state government honored the police force for solving the case of the missing children. Anita climbed the stage to receive her medal for her outstanding bravery. The audience cheered for her. Her entire family was present to witness her felicitation. Her parents-in-law husband and son were proud of her. Her parents had tears in their eyes as Utkarsh clapped for her.

She began her emotional speech. She said, " Thank you all for your overwhelming support. My husband has been my pillar of strength. He taught me how to keep cool in a tough situation. He has always encouraged me to follow my career with passion. He also happens to be my senior but never had dictated his terms to me. If you don't mind, I would like to receive this medal from him." Prashant had tears of joy in his eyes. He left his son Ashwin with his parents. He hung the medal around Anita's neck after getting on to the stage. The entire audience applauded her. She resumed her speech by saying, " I dedicate this award to our Bravehearts Radhika and Rakesh. They gave up their lives to help other children escape to freedom. Their sacrifice did not go in vain. We have managed to rescue all the children. This case is just the tip of the iceberg. Those who are planning for adoption should check out the credentials of the orphanage. They have to ensure the authenticity of the documents for the application. The NGOs for the child welfare should strictly abide by the law. Any NGO involved in child abuse, kidnapping or child trafficking would be liable for severe punishment. We have to protect our children as they are the future citizens of our country." Anita also gave away medallions to the parents of Radhika and Rakesh. She handed a cheque for Rs. One lakh to each family. The grieving parents expressed their gratitude to her for getting justice.

The program was over. Anita joined her family for a grand celebration. Utkarsh was happy for his aunt. He went near Anita and said, " Congratulations, Maasi. Ashwin is lucky to have great parents like you. I am so unfortunate to have wretched creatures as my mom and dad." Prashant and his parents joined in the conversation. Prashant said, " Don't be so miserable, young man. We have decided to adopt you. We are going to be your foster parents. You can start calling us mom and dad if you like. Welcome to our family." " We have got another grandson in the family, " said Prashant's father, " We will have a gala time together." Prashant's mother kissed him on the forehead. Utkarsh had never been so happy in his life. Anita and Prashant hugged him. The family threw a grand party to welcome Utkarsh as its new member.