The Twisted

Rohan Sharma was a handsome, smart, young and successful real-estate broker living in a posh locality of Bangalore. His wife Avni Sharma was a tall, pretty and vivacious architect. They had two kids Niya and Sameer. Niya was 11 years old and Sameer was 9 years old. Both of them were studying at a good school and were good at their academic performance and extra-curricular activities.

Rohan and Avni were also quite the couple. They were the most pleasant, charming and good-natured couple anyone could have ever met. Always helpful, polite, and smiling, they were the main highlights of any social event in the city. People used to get positive vibes from them after an interaction. They were also quite known in the social circles of Bangalore. Rohan’s convincing skills and his pleasant personality had won over many clients and admirers in his line of work. The couple were planning to open their real-estate firm where even Avni would also be able to get more clients, both for her and their firm.

Anyways, tonight they had gone out to celebrate after a successful conclusion of a deal by Rohan. They had gone to one of the poshest restaurants in the city that were patronised by some of the social elites of the establishment. Here also, they encountered many known faces and after exchanging pleasantries, celebrated their success regally.

It was around 10:30 p.m. when they came back home. The children were tired and they had school the next day. So, after a quick change, they retired to their rooms for the night.

“Today was fun.” Avni Said.

“Of course dear, it was more than fun!” Rohan replied glad that his family had enjoyed it.

“We should do more of such kinds of outings,” Avni remarked happily.

“Sure, provided we get more of such kinds of deals like the one today,” Rohan replied with a smile on his face.

“I am sure you would be able to achieve this with no sweat,” Avni responded positively and with an encouraging smile on her face.

Rohan was really happy that his wife so much supported him and was caring towards him. He just hugged her tightly and said

“I love you so much.”

“Don’t get so much overly romantic,” Avni replied with a twinkle in her eyes.

Both of them laughed at this and went to sleep.

Now, someone was there who had been following them and observing their every move for the past few weeks. He had been quietly following Rohan’s children to their school and used to observe them from a distance. He even discreetly followed and observed Avni during any time of the day and kept a close eye on Rohan also. He had also followed them to the restaurant that night and waited outside for them to come out.

It was around 2:00 a.m. when Rohan suddenly felt thirsty and wanted to get up and get a glass of water for himself. As he tried to get up he was taken aback! He could not move. He tried to utter a sound but could not as his mouth was gagged with a handkerchief! Somehow, he managed to raise his head and could not believe himself. He found himself tied and gagged to the bed! He managed to open his half-asleep eyes and through a hazy vision saw an intruder sitting on a chair on his side in their bedroom! Before he could register and react the intruder, who was wearing a dark helmet on his head, thus obscuring his face raised a finger to his lips and whispered “ssh…….. The children will wake up.”

Rohan tried to struggle and see whether Avni was okay. He saw that Avni was also similarly tied and gagged and sobbing silently. Both husband and wife were helpless in front of the intruder.

Their only question and concern were that children should be safe.

Rohan tried to plead to the intruder to at least take the gag off his mouth.

The intruder also had started a recording from Rohan’s phone and was recording the whole situation! This seemed intimidating and surprising to both Rohan and Avni.

The intruder, meanwhile, was enjoying himself at the cost of their fear, panic and misery.

As it was the month of June and in this sweltering heat how can one wear a dark black jacket and black trousers and cover himself completely! Though it was nighttime still the weather was hot and the air conditioner was not helping much. The intruder took pity on Rohan and took off his gag.

“Who are you?”

“What do you want?” Rohan asked in a panicked state.

The intruder looked at him and just smiled.

“If you want money take whatever is there but let us go.” Rohan pleaded.

“Ah! Questions, Questions. You ask a lot of questions, Mr Rohan.” The intruder remarked.

“Remember it’s I who am going to do the questioning around here. Is that clear?” The intruder demanded.

Both Avni and Rohan just could nod their heads vigorously in agreement.

 They were helpless and had to sadly bow down before the guy standing in front of them.

 He even took out a couple of huge plastic sheets and went about wrapping both Rohan and Avni in them!

“Uh…….. What are you doing?” Rohan tried to ask through his gag.

Even Avni tried to struggle but the intruder got enraged and slapped her viciously across the cheek!

This stunned her and blood started oozing out of a cut from her upper lip.

She could feel the stinging sensation and the taste of blood in her mouth. She decided to cooperate as it was the wise thing to do now!

After that, the intruder said nothing but just kept staring at the opposite wall, as if in deep thought.

Then he took out a long shiny serrated knife and showed it to Rohan.

 Rohan was now more scared and concerned for the well-being of his family.

 To make matters worse, Avni’s sobs were turning into gasps as she saw the knife!

“Please don’t hurt the children!” Rohan once more pleaded.

“Ah! The children.” The intruder remarked.

His voice seemed to come from somewhere far from his mouth, which further scared Rohan and Avni.

“Please say what you want from us?” Rohan tried another time. This time slowly and in a feigned calm tone.

“Do you believe in god?” The intruder asked.

Rohan was surprised by this question but he replied “Yes, I do.”

“Do you pray to god?” The intruder again asked.

To which Rohan again replied “Yes.”

“Does your wife and kids believe and pray to god?” The intruder asked for the third time.

This time Avni nodded her head vigorously.

“Good. Because now you have to pay for your sins.” The intruder said.

With that he viciously attacked Rohan, who was tied hand and foot, so he could not defend himself from the sudden and brutal knife attacks.

The intruder had again put the gag back onto his mouth so that his screams could not be heard by anyone else.

 Avni was terrified now and she was crying and screaming for help through the gag.

Rohan, on the other hand, was just jerking with each vicious stab of the knife.

 Blood was gushing out in huge quantities! Alas! He could not do anything to save himself or his wife.

After a few moments, when the killer was satisfied that Rohan was as good as dead, he smiled and made his move toward Avni, who was screaming and struggling against her restraints and the gag.

Her only concern was her kids!

This is natural for any mother!

The intruder then went on to stab Avni to death. It seemed that with each vicious attack, the killer seemed to enjoy himself! After making sure that Avni was dead the killer quietly went to the washroom and took a mop from there and washed the entire area clean of blood stains!

Mind you, all this time the killer was wearing a pair of gloves and also had not taken off his helmet! He then diligently and quickly wiped all those areas clean which might leave some kind of evidence that he had been there! He looked at the bodies went to the dresser and did one of the strangest things you can think of! He carefully selected a red lipstick, which was Avni’s favourite and wrote some indecipherable lines on the mirror. Then he took the recording which was on Rohan’s phone and uploaded it to social media!

“Let the world see and know what happens to sinners!” The intruder remarked and then broke the phone and went out with a smile on his face!

Niya and Sameer were completely unaware of the events unfolding in their parents’ room as they were in a deep tired slumber. They were rudely awakened by the banging on their door. Niya and Sameer woke up with a start!

When they noticed that no one was answering the door, Niya cautiously went out and peered in the hallway. Seeing no one she called out for her mother.

“Mama………………Mama. There is someone at the door. Why aren’t you answering it.?” Niya shouted standing outside her parents’ room. When she did not get any response she gently nudged the door open.

She was in for the biggest surprise of her life of 11 years. She saw that both of her parents were tied down in the bed, gagged and bound and covered in plastic sheets! She could not understand and went in a bit closer and screamed! She saw that both her parents were dead with blood splattered across the whole sheet!

Meanwhile, the door banging continued incessantly. Sameer, on the other hand, had tiptoed silently following his sister. When he saw the scene laid out in front of him he screamed and started crying. Niya, till now was distracted. As soon as she saw her kid brother crying she quickly hugged him and shushed him and took him out of the room.

“What has happened to Maa and Pa?” Sameer asked with sobs.

“Why aren’t they opening the door?” He continued.

Niya herself was in tears but could not get to answer her kid brother’s innocent questions. Instead, she went ahead and with great difficulty opened the door. Immediately, a swarm of curious people, onlookers and concerned, shocked neighbours rushed in. A couple of neighbours, who were very close to the Sharmas, quickly took Niya and Sameer under their protection to shield them from the grisly scene, flashbulbs and awkward questions of the media.

The Police also arrived at the scene almost immediately. The Police Team was led by Inspector Karan Thakur. He took stock of the scene and immediately ordered a cordon around the grisly crime scene and also asked the forensics team and ambulance to arrive as soon as possible.

“Who else was there?” He asked the group of people congregating outside the Sharma residence.

“Their two children.” one of the neighbours replied.

“What are their names and where are they now?” He asked.

Just then the neighbours who had taken Niya and Sameer under their care stepped in and responded.

“Niya, age 11 years and Sameer, age 9 years. They are with us now.” The neighbours said.

“Can I talk to them?” Inspector Karan asked softly.

When he met the Sharma kids he was moved and hugged them. He then very cautiously and delicately asked them some questions considering their age and the mental condition they were in at the moment.

“Beta, are you okay? Is your brother okay?” Karan asked Niya.

Niya within sobs nodded.

“Beta, where were you at the time?” He again asked very softly.

“We were sleeping in our rooms,” Niya replied in between her incessant sobs.

Inspector Karan knew that asking any further questions to these kids is not viable at this moment, so he got up and went to have a closer look at the crime scene. Here he saw that something was written in red on the mirror. He tried to read the lines but could not make any sense of them. He, however, took some photos of the writing.

Next, he started interviewing the people. Though he knew that he would not get any answers he was looking for, or any help he might get from the responses in the investigation.

The next day, all the newspapers, television channels and radio stations were awash with the news of the gruesome double murder of the Sharmas. Some of the newspapers had also gone as far as giving such headlines as “Famous social family gruesomely murdered!”, another headline read “ Ideal Happy family destroyed!” Such kind of headlines further created tension and concern among the people. There were growing concerns with the children of the murdered couple. Talk shows stars and television stars all started appearing in debates and talk shows expressing fake concern and sympathy for the Sharma family's children.

The investigation dragged on for many days without a positive clue arising out of the case. Every new lead turned out to be a dud. This was frustrating for the authorities, especially, for Inspector Karan, who could imagine what was going on with the children.

After a couple of weeks, when there was no significant breakthrough in the investigation and people had already started losing interest in the case, the killer made his next bold move.

Deepti Singh, a young, pretty and successful investment banker

was just returning to her home in Thane, Maharashtra, lost in thoughts while driving. Deepti was from a poor background but it was her sheer determination, hard work and dedication that had enabled her to get a prestigious job in one of the top investment banking firms. She was the most successful employee, or, rather, you can call her the star of the firm. All of the employees loved, admired and respected Deepti for her hard work, her happy-go-lucky nature, her affableness, her irresistible charm and kindness. She was the kind of person who could not be troubled or depressed at any point in life. This attribute made her one of the most promising rising stars of her firm.

Anyways, she was driving down ruminating about her days when she had to struggle a lot even for two proper meals a day. Now, her parents were the proudest in the whole of their village. The only thing that nagged her was that her parents did not wish to come to the city and join her in her apartment.

“We are people who are simpletons. We are bound to this land beta.” Her father always said whenever she brought up the question of them moving in with her.

She never noticed that she was being followed the whole time! She was busy chatting with one of her male colleagues in her firm. Rumours had it that the two of them were also having a close relationship though both of them denied it vehemently whenever they were confronted with it!

She reached her apartment complex within 30 minutes as there was light traffic on the road.

This made her unknown pursuer follow her with ease and without the risk of being detected easily.

Deepti’s apartment was in a condominium and it had cost a fortune to get this apartment in this posh locality. Her house was on the 13th floor. You can call it coincidence, but that day was also the 13th and it was a Friday!

Anyways, Deepti oblivious to the looming danger lurking behind her went straight to the elevators happy and whistling a Bollywood number. As she was about to press the close buttons, a stranger came running towards the elevator, all panting and in a bit of a hurry.

 Deepti looked at the stranger and saw that he was wearing a black jacket and a black helmet; thus, obscuring his face.

She also noticed that he was carrying a heavy package in both of his hands.

Not paying attention, she pressed the 13th floor and started concentrating on her phone.

She did not notice that the stranger was taking a very keen interest in her.

She exited on her floor and looked back and saw that the stranger was still standing there looking at her.

She felt a bit of uneasiness as she thought that the stranger had opened his visor and flashed a leery grin at her!

She was startled!

Who wouldn’t be, you tell me?

Not giving it much of a thought she went straight to her apartment and then straight onto her favourite cushion, which was a gift from one of her clients.

She thought of taking a shower in a few minutes. She did not realise but she might have dozed off and when she woke it was around 8:30 p.m. She rushed to get herself a quick bath and get dressed as her partner was about to visit her to take her out for a dinner.

It was while she was taking a bath that all of a sudden she realized that something was odd! She ignored it and kept on relaxing in the bathtub. She put on a pair of headphones and started relaxing to soft music. Little did she realize that the intruder, the same helmeted guy was prying with the locks of her apartment!

As he had indeed given her a leery grin and gone up to the 14th floor and came back down via the fire exit.

The intruder was in Deepti’s apartment in no time.

He could make out that she was taking a bath!

He stood there for a few seconds and seemed to deeply inhale the smells of the apartment!

He gave a smile to himself and made his way towards Deepti’s room!

Deepti though was as excited as she could be for the upcoming dinner date, but there was an uneasy feeling gnawing at the back of her head. Anyways, she decided to ignore it and go ahead with dressing up.

Suddenly, she heard a thud from the living room.

She jumped with fright.

She peered from her bathroom door and asked

“Hello, is anybody there?”

She did not get any response. So thinking it might be just her heightened nerves she started rubbing herself clean.

A few seconds later, it seemed as if someone had started the jukebox and was playing soft music!

She was surprised as she clearly remembered that she had not played the jukebox.

She went outside cautiously and surveyed the living room. She could not find anyone there, though the music was still on.

She thought her friend might have arrived and was just playing pranks on her.

As she turned back towards her room, she heard someone call out to her in a soft lullaby!

“Deepti…………………….. Deepti…………………………………………….”

She was taken aback. She was frightened also!

She looked here and there but could not see anyone. That made it more unnerving.

“Hello, anybody there?” She again asked.

Still no response. She was now thinking of calling either her friend or the police. As she turned towards her room; right in front of her appeared the same helmeted man!

She jumped back in fright.

“Who are you?”

“How did you come here?”

She asked in a frightened voice.

The intruder just took a step towards her and said

“Too many questions dear. Why don’t you ask me to sit and have a cup of tea?”

“Then I might answer your questions if you answer me satisfactorily.”

The intruder said in a calm tone.

Deepti was now really scared and did not know what to do.

The phone was in the other room. She knew that if she tried to escape from him he might harm her!

She was in a panic state of mind when she saw the intruder take out a plastic sheet and a big shiny knife from the package he was carrying in the elevator!

She was more alarmed when she saw him take her phone and start recording a video!

“Now where were we?” He asked.

Deepti was silent.

“What do you want from me,” she asked.

“If you don’t leave my boyfriend is going to be here in a few minutes and you will be in trouble.” She tried a different tactic.

The intruder just looked at her through his dark visors and gave out a rasping leave.

It sounded like someone was making a crunching sound on sandglass!

“Do you believe in God?” The intruder asked.

Deepti nodded.

“Do you honestly pray and repent for the mistakes you have done in life?” He continued.

Deepti was surprised by this line of questioning but nodded instead.

“Good, because now you will have all the time to repent in front of your maker.” He said.

Before Deepti could react the intruder lunged at her and started wrapping her in the plastic sheet.

She tried to struggle as she was taken completely unawares!

But it was to no avail.

Then the killer started stabbing her mercilessly in the chest, neck and face. She could not do anything but scream.

The killer had increased the volume of the jukebox to hide her screams.

He continued stabbing her till the very end.

 Deepti gradually could feel the life oozing out of her with the blood gushing out.

 

At last, she knew that struggle was futile as blackness started enveloping her and she surrendered to the emptiness.

When the killer was satisfied that Deepti was dead he got up and switched off the video and uploaded it on social media!

The next thing he did was wipe all evidence of his presence from there and also wrote something with Deepti’s lipstick on the wall.

He then looked at the wall and gave a rue smile and exited the building.

Though there were CCTV cameras on Deepti’s floor. The only thing that got captured was the killer entering the elevators!

The next day, the city of Thane was rocked by this gruesome killing!

The discovery of the body was made by the maid who had come for her normal chores and was surprised to see the front door slightly ajar.

She had gone inside calling out Deepti’s name and when there was no response, she had made her way towards her bedroom where she discovered the gruesome sight.

The Investigating officer, Kiran Rao was smart and she immediately called for the forensic team and took a photo of the writing on the wall. She immediately sent it to the Police linguistics laboratory to get it deciphered.

Meanwhile, there was still no lead in the Rohan Sharma and Avni Sharma murder case.

Now, a third murder had taken place in a different place. The modus operandi was the same. So, now the media and the public wanted some stronger measures to be taken. The government ordered the Crime Bureau to take over the case and ACP Abhimanyu Pratap Singh was given the case.

ACP Abhimanyu Pratap Singh was enjoying some time off with his fiancé Priyanshi. The first reaction he gave was something like this

“Yaar, policewaalon ki bhi koi zindagi hoti hai ya nahin……..”

“Relax bhi nahi karne dete yahaan toh.” He added seriously.

His fiancé just broke out laughing hearing Abhimanyu grumble.

He just looked at her and felt so happy that he had found the love of his life.

Anyways, he was ordered to go to Bangalore, where the first double murders had taken place and start from there. Once he reached Bangalore, he immediately ordered a meeting with all the officers involved in the case and all documentation, reports and clues till now relating to the case. He also very carefully scrutinised the report regarding the writings on the wall and the mirror, as both of them was done in red lipstick. Another similarity was the m.o. was the same in all three murders. That is the victims were wrapped in plastic sheets and then stabbed multiple times. This showed the cunningness of the killer.

He did not leave any traces of blood for the forensics team!

Neither did he leave any trace of his presence in both the murder spots!

The thing which ACP Abhimanyu grudgingly admired was that both the videos were shot with victims’ cameras and there was nothing which could reveal the killer’s identity!

“He is one clever piece of work!” ACP Abhimanyu mused.

On the other hand, nothing was made out of the writings from both the crime scenes. It was then ACP Abimanyu asked Rahul, a computer genius and a former hacker, now working for the police to take a look at the writings. Rahul was a geek. He had long hair, wore torn jeans, and was tall and gangly. He also had sunken eyes as a result of being constantly hooked to his Apple Laptop and iPad! He was also addicted to Hard Rock and Punk music, which was somehow incomprehensible to ACP Abhimanyu.

“How can one enjoy excessively loud music and songs which don’t make any sense?” He always used.

Rahul just used to smile and keep quiet.

The first time ACP Abhimanyu had laid his eyes on Rahul, he was taken aback. It was only through a stern warning that Rahul was forced to cut his long hair and trim his shaggy, unkempt beard. He was also asked to wear decent clothes!

ACP Abhimnayu knew that Rahul was not a career criminal and that was his first offence. So he had taken him under his wings and became his mentor.

Now Rahul also was mature enough and respected and admired Abhimanyu. He listened to whatever Abhimanyu told him. So he took a keen interest in the images of the lines from both of the crime scenes and started working on them.

Meanwhile, the killer struck for the fourth time. This time the victim was a businessman in Noida, U.P. His name was Arun Shourie and he was the owner of a manufacturing unit.

There was the only difference that the victim was killed in his car! Though the modus operandi was the same here also. That is he was wrapped in a plastic sheet and stabbed multiple times, and here another striking difference was that the message was written in the victim’s blood!

However, this time the killer was caught on surveillance footage, so this was a big break for ACP Abhimanyu Pratap Singh. However, there was one downside also. The videos of the gruesome murders had gathered a huge fan following online worldwide!

The killer was being hailed by some crazy people as the equalizer in social strata. That is his targeting of the rich and famous was seen as a step to bring on a measure of equality in society!

Many talk shows and radio shows were on the air discussing his personality, his motives and his crimes! Thus giving him a celebrity kind of status where psychiatrists, doctors, and sociologists all were discussing him.

This made the investigation more tenuous for ACP Abhimanyu and his team as there was a lot of pressure from the government and his seniors to quickly resolve the case.

Meanwhile, Rahul had got a breakthrough with the writings on all of the murder spots. He had used advanced algorithms and codes to crack the writings and gave his analysis and translations jubilantly to ACP Abhimanyu.

“Excellent Rahul!” Abhimanyu exclaimed.

“Amazing that you took so little time in cracking this!” He added.

Rahul was red-faced with embarrassment and said nothing.

“What is the meaning of all these lines?” Abhimanyu asked.

Now, Rahul was in his element. He knew that now he could show ACP Abhimanyu how grateful Rahul was for all the help and cooperation shown towards him.

“Sir, these messages were all written in ancient Hindu script. This is no longer in use today.”

Rahul replied. When he saw a blank expression, he further elaborated.

“If you take a closer look, the language here has a strong resemblance to the local Hindi dialects spoken in all parts of Hindi-speaking regions of India today.”

“But this is something more ancient and complex. Here the lines are taken from some sacred ancient Hindu texts referring to some kind of punishments committed for sins.” He elaborated.

“I guess the killer is a learned man and is using lines from the Garud Puran.” He continued.

When Abhimanyu was still looking clueless, Rahul explained that Garud Puran was part of an ancient and sacred Hindu text, which related to the various punishments waiting for all kinds of sinners in the afterlife!

ACP Abhimanyu was both surprised and amazed at Rahul’s calm, and clear way of explaining. He was also surprised at the depth of knowledge and the cunningness the killer possessed!

Rahul even went further and gave a breakdown of all the messages.

In the first case, the message was “You can steal from others; but you cannot prevent life stolen away from you” This referred to thieves and burglars.

In the second case, the message was “Those who cheat others will once find themselves be cheated of life!” This referred to cheaters, manipulators and conmen and women.

In the third case, the message was “You cannot get away by sheer brute force and arrogance of power!” This referred to people who misused their power and affluence.

ACP Abhimanyu was truly amazed at this analysis and he reported to his seniors for a commendation to be given to Rahul!

Meanwhile, carefully scrutiny of the surveillance footage gave vital clues. In the videos, the killer was wearing the same black jacket and helmet. However, upon zooming on closer, the brand of the jacket could be discerned and also the maker’s name on the helmet could be seen.

These were the two leads which ACP Abhimanyu and his team aggressively pursued for a few weeks.

Finally, they got the biggest lead when one of the undercover informers informed them that one guy, named Nihal Singh was bragging in English about he had committed these murders. The informant went on to say further

“This guy was completely drunk and was lamenting at all the troubles the world had.”

Upon further investigation, it was found that Nihal Singh was a former professor of languages at a prestigious university. He was fired from there because of his radical and crazy viewpoints, of which he was very vocal. It was also found that he was having some psychological problems for some time now. Thus making him crazy and dangerous!

“He was so drunk that he did not bother that others could hear him. He went on to shout that he was given a task to cleanse the world of all evils and evildoers!”

That’s why he committed these murders.

“Where is he now?” ACP Abhimanyu asked, barely able to contain his excitement.

“He is planning on his next kill and he is in Gurugram, Haryana sir.” Replied the informant.

“Inform the local police but ask them not to do anything. Ask them to wait for me.” ACP Abhimanyu commanded.

“Okay, sir.” The informant replied.

ACP Abhimanyu immediately informed his seniors about the latest developments and asked for permission to go to Haryana, which was given immediately.

“Go, catch that killer.” It was all his seniors ordered.

He immediately boarded the next flight to Haryana along with his team. On his arrival, he immediately went to Gurugram, where he saw that his instructions were being followed to the T, the police had surrounded the place where the killer was.

He spoke on the bull horn and asked Nihal Singh to come out with his hands in the air. When there was no response after making repeated orders, Abhimanyu, along with a few of his men went inside the cottage. Here they were surprised at the scene which befell them.

They saw that the killer had committed suicide but there was a note which said that “this was not the end; rather, the beginning and the world will soon be cleansed of all evil, starting from ACP Abhimanyu and his fiancé’s deaths!”

The police team was stunned and shocked at this macabre note but ACP Abhimanyu just read and tore it away. He said “the world is full of crazies. It is very unfortunate that a learned guy like him could be one of the crazies, but cannot take every crazy guy seriously!”

With that, he went out of the cottage and lit a cigarette.