The Witness

It is Dheeraj's first day at St. Anthony College, and he was looking for his classroom.

"Hey, bro! Could you please tell me where room no 315 is?" He asked the guy standing there.

"Sure, bro! It's on the left side of the corridor".

"Thanks!" He said and headed to his classroom.

After some time, he saw the same guy from earlier enter the class. His curiosity got the best of him, and he went to the guy and said "Hello!".

"Hey! Hi!"

"I am Dheeraj. I've joined the college today as a lateral entry." Dheeraj introduced himself and extended his hand for a handshake. He wanted to make friends since he was a lateral student and everyone around him seemed to have friends already. 'Perks of being a regular student,' he thought.

"I am Badal. Nice to meet you, Dheeraj. And these are my friends Aman and Chetan," Badal introduced with a firm handshake.

Dheeraj, Aman, and Chetan exchanged pleasantries. "So, have you made any friends?" Aman asked.

Dheeraj nodded his head in a 'no'.

"I think you have now," Chetan chipped in grinning, which made Dheeraj smile.

Three months passed since Dheeraj joined the college, and he was grateful that he got three friends. He cherished his friendship with them.

*******

There was a call to the police station. The police went to the said location for investigation and found a boy hanging himself. Along with the police, an investigator, Suraj, who was present during the call, tagged along. Srikhar ordered his team to bring the body down. Suraj examined the body and declared it was not a suicide but a murder. The body was stabbed in the back and later strangled, and then it was hanged. Srikhar agreed with him.

After talking to the neighbours, Suraj identified the dead body as Dheeraj, who recently moved here to study at St. Anthony College. He decided to go to the college and dig for more information. He went to the principal of St. Anthony and informed him about Dheeraj's death. The principal didn't want his colleague to be involved in this because if anyone came to know about it, the college's reputation would be at stake.

"Mr. Principal! What if the media starts expressing much more interest in this case? What would you do?" Suraj questioned with a smirk.

The principal panicked and dialed someone's number. Suraj assumed the person on the call would be the chairman of this college. After disconnecting, he was ready to cooperate but asked Suraj to keep the media out of it, to which Suraj nodded. The principal summoned the attendant and asked him to take Suraj to Dheeraj's class.

After investigating the students, Suraj learns that Dheeraj was best friends with Aman, Badal, and Chetan. All three of them were absent today, which was strange for Suraj.

'Was Dheeraj killed by his friends?' Suraj assumed.

He took the phone numbers and addresses of the trio and called them to inform them about Dheeraj's death. All three seemed shocked by the news. He called them to his office to investigate.

After their arrival, Suraj asked them where they were between 10:00 and 11:00 pm two days ago.

"We were attending a school friend's party. You can ask him," replied Badal and gave his friend's number.

"I'll do that, it's a part of my job. You were best friends with Dheeraj, am I right?" Suraj asked no one in particular.

"Yes, he was a very enthusiastic person. He excelled in studies, and loved painting," Chetan answered this time.

"Any enemies or any fight recently?"

"No, as per our knowledge. However, he did have a little fight over the phone with Badal," Aman answered. Badal gave him a pointed look. Aman quickly added, "it was a petty fight, nothing serious."

"And what was the fight about?"

"Dheeraj was using Badal's mobile for clicking our pictures, and he dropped his mobile accidentally. Badal was furious at that time and started yelling at Dheeraj regarding his status". Aman was explaining while going back to the memory.

"Do you know how expensive it is? How could you drop my phone like that?" Badal yelled.

"You are yelling as if I did it intentionally. It was an accident, and I'll get you a new phone," Dheeraj yelled back and left annoyingly leaving the trio behind.

Aman came out of his memory and stopped explaining.

"Interesting, so when did this fight happen?"

"About a week before Dheeraj's death," Aman replied. All this time Badal was giving him a pointed look.

"It was a small fight, and we resolved it the very next day. It has nothing to do with his murder," Badal tried to prove his innocence.

"So, where did Dheeraj come from? I mean the 'status'", Suraj asked emphasizing the word status with air quotes.

"Dheeraj's father is a government employee, and my father is a businessman, but trust me, I didn't mean that. It was just in the heat of the time. If I had known that something like this would happen, I would never have said that" Badal replied guiltily.

"You can go for now, but don't leave this city," said Suraj, to which they nodded.

Later, he informs Srikhar about the investigation and asks him to get the call records of the trio.

He dials someone's number and asks if the CCTV footage is ready. The person sitting at the other end answered yes. After ending the call, he went to see the CCTV. He made a thorough inspection and saw two persons walking toward Dheeraj's room, and one of them was carrying a knife. They covered their faces with a cloak so that their faces could not be recognized. While he was still checking the CCTV footage, he got a call from Srikhar regarding the call records.

"Suraj! We didn't gather any information from the call records. Seems like whatever they claimed was true. Anyway, I've forwarded the call records."

"Okay! I've checked the CCTV footage and collected some information," Suraj said and informed everything to Srikhar.

"You mean someone else killed Dheeraj? What could be their motive? By the way, when is your new assistant joining?"

"He will join tomorrow. See you soon," he said and ended the call.

Next day***

"Hello, sir!"

"Hello, Raunak! Welcome! How are you doing?"

"Good, sir! Can't wait to work."

"I see. If you are so excited, let's get to work. Currently, we are working on Dheeraj's case," Suraj said and informed all the details to Raunak.

"We don't have any lead in this case, am I right?"

"Yes, sadly! But I suspect Aman and Badal. They have to do something with the murder."

"And what about Chetan? Don't you suspect him?"

"At first, I did, but after going through the call records and CCTV, I think he is innocent."

"If you don't mind, can I have a look at both?"

"Of course, I am happy that you are willing to work from day one," Suraj said with a smile.

Raunak went through the CCTV and found nothing in particular. While he was checking the call records, he noticed something interesting. He informed Suraj. Later that afternoon Suraj and Raunak paid a visit to Aman's house. Aman was surprised to see Suraj with some other guy.

"Aman, we have a few questions for you, and I hope you answer honestly. We were checking your and your friends' call records and found a number we can't reach. Could you please tell us whose number it is?" Suraj asked Aman showing the number.

"So, you doubt us, huh? We were Dheeraj's friends. Why would we do that? And for your information, let me tell you that this number belongs to a friend of my father. He is out of the country now, so he changed his number, and that's why you aren't able to call him," replied Aman.

Aman's father was passing through the corridor at that time.

"Who is he?" Raunak asked.

"My father," Aman replied.

"Okay, Aman! We'll leave now but don't you leave this town," Suraj said and left with Raunak.

"Who were they?" Aman's father asked.

"They had come to investigate Dheeraj's death."

"Why did you kill him, Aman?"

Aman flashed an evil smile at that.

*******

On the way, Raunak expresses his doubts to Suraj about the involvement of Aman's father in the matter. Suraj didn't understand why Raunak was suspecting Aman's father.

"Why do you think Aman's father did anything?"

"I don't know, but I have a gut feeling. I don't know what, but something is terribly wrong. Didn't you see how his father was glaring at us?"

"I did, any father might look like that if we are investigating his son, and most importantly, he is an MLA. How do you think he would react if someone entered his den and started investigating his son?"

"I think you are right; maybe I am thinking too much. But I don't understand what the killer's motive was?"

"I am also trying to figure that out."

*******

A few days passed, and there was no improvement in the case. Suraj's phone rang.

"Hi, Srikhar!"

"What? When?" Suraj asked, shocked.

"Okay! I'll be there."

"Raunak! Aman died. Srikhar and his team found his dead body in the lake. We need to go."

"What? How did that happen?"

"I don't know. Let's go."

Suraj and Raunak reached the spot. It looks as if Aman was driving his car and the brakes failed, or something of that sort might have happened, which led to Aman's death. While investigating, police found a bag. Inside it was a diary which was in a plastic lock bag. Aman's body was sent for postmortem.

"Our suspect is dead now; what to do?" Raunak asked.

"I am unsure. Is it his diary? Let's see what we can find?" Suraj responded.

After reaching their office, they started reading the diary.

Anand 

On 12th June 2016. 

At last, my wait is over. JEE Mains results are out. I am sure this time I will get a good rank.

Finally, the site opened up, and I checked my rank, only to see that I didn't qualify. I can't believe it happened again. Something is fishy; I can feel that. Last year I thought maybe I didn't write well, but this time I got 95% in both sessions. How did it turn into 32%? I'll have to find out what's wrong. 

19th June 2016.

After a lot of applications and complaints to NTA through e-mails, they finally responded and asked me to visit them so that they can help me with the issue. A watchman asked me the reason for the visit, to which I answered. I went to the reception and informed the reason for my visit. The receptionist informed me that Mr. Khan is in a meeting now and he would be free in the next one and half hours. I decided to wait till that time. 

Time was passing, but there was no response from the receptionist. I was annoyed, so I asked the receptionist if I had a chance to meet him today. He replied honestly that he would not meet me. I was furious and started yelling at him. I waited for him for the last 7 hours, what kind of behaviour is this? I pleaded with him that it was about my future and that I had to talk to Mr. Khan. I will not let my hard work go in vain. After many pleas, the receptionist had a change of heart, so he allowed me in, but he told me it would cost him his job. So, he asked me to make sure I meet him and sort out my issue before his break is over. I was delighted to go in. But a man and a teenage guy suddenly walked into the room before me. I sat behind a wall at some distance so that they wouldn't be able to see me. The man asked the head of the selection committee whether he had allotted a seat for his friend's son. The head of the committee, Mujahid, replied in the affirmative saying they had dropped the forty-fifth rank candidate named Vishal and replaced him with Arun. 

After overhearing this, I was shocked to the core. How could they play with someone's future? I started recording the whole thing. I was sure they did something to my rank as well. The man praised him for doing this work and assured him that the remaining amount would be transferred to his account soon. Everything for some money? They got a call from someone and turned to me. I thought someone might have alerted them. That's when I observed that there was a CCTV at the entrance of the room. I ran from there because I knew these people could be dangerous. Their people followed me to a great extent. But I was lucky enough to hide. I somehow reached home, but I was unsafe there. They will definitely find me. After a lot of thinking, I decided to go to the police the next day as it was already dark outside.

21st June 2016

When I went to the police station yesterday to complain, they were not ready to file a complaint against them. They started cross-questioning me. I left because I knew that they are not working for us, common people but politicians. Yes, the man who entered before me that day is an MLA, Parveen Prakash and I assume the boy could be his son. When I returned home that day, I was thinking I saw that man somewhere, and it clicked to me that he was the MLA of this place. I don't know how long I would live now because I saw his minions enquiring about me yesterday. I somehow escaped. I am writing this diary because if anything happens to me, MLA Parveen Prakash and the head of the committee Mujahid will be responsible.

After reading everything, Suraj and Raunak were speechless. They just looked at each other.

"This case is not going anywhere. We aren't able to conclude anything. First, Dheeraj died then our prime suspect in this case died. Interestingly, he was carrying the diary of someone else who was murdered six years ago, and guess what, by whom?" Suraj asked.

"Aman's father."

"Yes, as per the claim in the diary, MLA Parveen Prakash is Aman's father, and the teenager referred to could be Aman, Aman Prakash because as far as I've investigated, Aman didn't have siblings. This case is getting interesting day by day."

"Interesting!" Raunak scoffed. "It's getting messier. How do we find out what happened and how?"

"Enough for today! Let's think about it tomorrow. We are already getting late," said Suraj, looking at his wristwatch.

They said good night to each other and left.

Suraj was thinking about what happened today and could not sleep. He was tossing and turning. He suddenly remembered that he still has to get Aman's autopsy report. He decided to start the investigation from the very beginning. He began to think why a person would keep someone else's diary before his death. Something is not adding up. What if Aman was also killed? Because carrying the diary of someone who is already dead and the blame is on none other than his father, this can't be a coincidence. He dialed Srikhar's number and asked him to check if there is any criminal record of Aman's father and send it to him. While analyzing everything, he didn't know when he fell asleep.

The next morning on his way to the office, he received a call from Srikhar informing him that he had forwarded all the criminal records of Parveen Prakash. After reaching the office he went straight to his computer and checked the records. He found something interesting there. He asked Raunak to get everyone's call records and also to call Dheeraj's father. Meanwhile, he validated the statements provided by Dheeraj's friends.

Aman said that Badal and Dheeraj fought.

Badal said it was nothing serious, and they went back to normal. Dheeraj, however, insisted that he would buy a mobile for Badal as he had accidentally dropped the mobile. Badal apologized for his behaviour last night and showed him his new phone, and asked Dheeraj not to buy anything. Chetan and a few other students confirmed it.

Badal was more of a bragging idiot and would lose his temper sometimes, but he won't kill anyone for such a small thing.

Chetan was calm and composed of the three. He can't kill anyone.

Aman seems calm, but he could be the most cunning. His temper is the worst of the three. Once when one of his teachers at school did not allow him to play in his class, he went to the teacher and smashed the pointed end of the pen on the teacher's back of the palm. He was expelled from the school, but no other action was taken as his father was a politician.

"Sir, Dheeraj's dad is here," Raunak announced.

"Come on Mr. Bajpai! Have a seat," Suraj offered.

"Why did you call me here?" Dheeraj's father asked.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Mr. Bajpai, but I have a few questions to ask, and I hope you answer them honestly because it might help us to catch your son's murderer."

"Okay!"

"Have you met Dheeraj's college friends?"

"Yes, once, but only Aman."

"Did they have any fight or something you know about?"

"Nothing"

"Think harder, Mr. Bajpai. It is about justice for your son. Don't you want that?" Suraj asked irritated, but he composed himself.

"Dheeraj and I fought. He was a very good son and person. One day he came to know that I swapped students' papers for some money. He was furious, to say the least. He was disappointed with me. He didn't talk to me until I promised him I'd never do it again. I stopped doing this. But I was still getting these offers, and I used to decline every time. One day Mr. Prakash came to me and threatened me that he would kill my family if I did not listen to him. I told this to Dheeraj and asked him to stay away from Aman. He and Aman had a big fight. I don't know about Aman, but my son valued friendship. That's why he didn't want his other friends to know about his fight."

'Maybe whatever was written in the diary was true,' Suraj thought.

"After a few days, Dheeraj told me Aman started behaving very nicely which was a little odd to me. I didn't say anything because I thought maybe he

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was genuinely sorry. Now I think that I should have raised my concerns," Bajpai said wiping his tears.

"Do you think Aman killed Dheeraj?"

"I don't know, I can't say if it was him but I suspect his father."

"Any reason?"

"After the death of Dheeraj, I got a call from an unknown number threatening me not to tell anything to the police about the scam. I was really afraid. I didn't know what to do. I lost my son already and I didn't have the strength to lose anyone else.

"You know the consequences of what you did, right?"

"Yes, I do. I am ready to surrender myself."

"Did your family know about it?"

"Not until Dheeraj knew from somewhere, I don't know how it happened but not only my son but also my family hated me for this. If I surrender, I hope my son would be able to forgive me now," Bajpai said looking up.

"He will, Mr. Bajpai. Do you know who else was involved in this scam?"

"I am not sure, sir. I got to know about Mr. Prakash because I heard him once talking to someone on the phone about this when he came to our office."

"You told someone threatened you on the call after Dheeraj's death, do you have that number?"

"Yes, sir. Here it is."

Bajpai surrendered himself.

"How did you know that Dheeraj's father might know something?" Raunak asked.

"I asked Srikhar to get the criminal records of our beloved MLA. One of the cases was related to marks scamming and there I saw Bajpai's name. I wonder how he was never arrested?"

"Maybe because he is a politician and has connections," Raunak responded.

Suraj asked Raunak to find whose number that was. After some time, Raunak informed Suraj regarding the number and they shared a look of understanding. They got into Suraj's vehicle and went to the MLA's home. After reaching they were surprised to see the police already present there. Raunak asked Srikhar regarding this and got to know about MLA's sudden demise. They were shocked. They went in further to inspect the place but didn't find anything. Prakash's body was taken for postmortem.

"Whenever we feel we got a lead in the case that person dies," Raunak said.

"We are back to the start, but at least we now know why Dheeraj might be killed," said Suraj.

"Even though Aman seemed apologetic, he might not be in reality. Dheeraj probably discovered that and threatened him that he would expose the scam to the world. I am not sure, though, who among the duo killed him. But I think it was Aman because calls were made on Aman's number," Raunak deduced.

"Exactly!" Suraj agreed. "And the way Aman's father supported him when he was trying to lie about the number, I am pretty sure he was also involved in it."

"I'll try again to gain more information regarding the number," Raunak said, and Suraj nodded.

Later that evening, Aman's autopsy report was received by Suraj. It stated that Aman died because of poison. This confirmed Suraj's suspicion that all these murders had something to do with Anand's murder and the scam.

He dialed Srikhar's number and asked him to forward the details of Anand's case. After about an hour, he got the file which stated that Anand had died of drowning and no further investigation was done. Even the attached photo was crumpled, but at least he found one.

'As per the diary, Anand's life was in danger. His case was manipulated for sure. To understand everything, I have to visit the place from where everything started,' Suraj thought and reached his vehicle.

After some time, he reached the NTA office. He went to the receptionist and showed him his card.

"Did you work here six years ago?" Suraj asked.

"Yes, sir! I joined in November," the receptionist replied.

"Who used to work here before you?" Suraj asked because according to his information, Anand's results were declared in August, and after some time he was murdered.

"I could look into the staff list, sir. It'll take a minute."

After checking the list, he told Suraj that the previous receptionist's name was Revanth and displayed his details. Suraj thanked him and left for the address shown. On his way, he received a call from Raunak.

"Hi, Raunak!"

"Where are you, sir? The number is traced," Raunak informed.

"That's great news. I'll be there soon," Suraj said and hung up the call.

Suraj reached Revanth's house, but no one was there. He inquired in the vicinity and learned from one of the residents that he lived there but had vacated the place long ago. Suraj asked if he informed anyone where he could go before leaving. The man replied he was from Arauli and might have shifted there, but he wasn't sure. Suraj thought to visit Arauli the next day and diverted his vehicle to his office. After arriving, Raunak asked where he was, to which he replied he was out for the case. Raunak didn't ask anything and informed Suraj of his findings.

"As per the data, when he was near Dheeraj's area, he switched off his mobile and switched it on again for a while to call Aman and switched it off again. Recently, he switched it on again and called Bajpai. He made the last call to Prakash on the day he died, and the location also matches Prakash's house.

"What do you understand by this?" Suraj asked.

"He either killed Prakash or was in the house when we reached. The timing suggests he was there when we arrived."

"Excellent! Now we have to wait for Prakash's autopsy report. By the way, I'll be late tomorrow. I have to meet a friend. You can take half a day's leave if you want. Even though you joined recently, I see you have potential. Your first case is messed up, as you put it earlier. Take some rest so that your mind is refreshed, and we can sort out the matter quickly," Suraj told Raunak with a smile.

"Thanks, sir! I'll do my best," Raunak replied with a sincere smile.

The next day Suraj reached Arauli, and after a lot of searching, he reached Revanth's house. He asked if Revanth was home, and to his luck, he was the one who answered the door. Suraj showed him his ID and informed him that he is there for an investigation.

"Do you know Anand, who died in the lake six years ago?"

"How can I forget him, sir? He came to visit me the next day outside the office after my shift and asked for my phone number. He told me his life was in danger, but he was worried about his family, not his life. He asked me to find a place for his family if anything happened to him. I asked him the reason, but deep down I knew why. After his death, I did what I promised him."

"Why didn't you inform the police?"

"I tried, sir! His brother and I went to the police station, but I guess the police were in the criminal's favour. Those so-called 'sophisticated people' tried to bribe me, but when I said no, they threatened me. I was afraid and left the job and came here."

"What about his family? Do they live here?"

"They used to live earlier, but after the death of his father due to shock, they vacated the place. I don't know where they went."

"Do you know where they belonged to, or do you know any relatives of him?"

"No, sir."

"What was his brother's name? Do you have any photos of him or his mother?"

"We used to call him Anni because Anand introduced him to me with that name. I don't have a photo, but you might get it from DNR school. I am not sure though, because he didn't study here for a long time."

"Thank you, Revanth. Could you give me your contact number so that I can call you if needed?"

"Sure, sir!"

After taking Revanth's number, Suraj left for school. To his dismay, he couldn't find Anni's picture but found his previous school's record. He was on his way to school but got a call from Raunak who informed him regarding Prakash's postmortem report. He decided to go to his office first. After reaching his office and reading Prakash's report he came to know that Prakash also died due to poisoning. He was eager to know about the murderer, so he called Raunak and asked if he was able to locate that person. Raunak replied 'yes' to his question. They were both seated in the vehicle and left for the location. To their luck, they got the person.

After bringing him to the police station they tried to get answers from him, but he wasn't ready to spill anything. After a lot of hard work, they were able to extract the details from him. He confessed that he killed Dheeraj, and that Aman was the one who told him to do so. But he revealed that even though Aman instructed him to kill Dheeraj, it was his father's plan. The first time they visited Aman's house he was there. After they left, he heard the duo talking. Aman's father was asking Aman why did he want Dheeraj to be killed. To which Aman replied to fulfill his father's command and they both laughed evilly. 

Suraj and Raunak understood it was Mr. Prakash's doing, so they asked him how many murders he committed for Prakash.

He revealed that he has killed many people on his orders and one of them was Anand. Hearing this they were shocked.

"What was special about him? How do you remember him?"

"He was a good guy but sad he messed with the boss. Boss tried to bribe him with a seat but in return he wanted the recording. Anand refused to do so and also hid the recording somewhere. We weren't able to find it. Boss tried to get it from him again but this time by threatening. When he didn't obey him, he forced him to drink something, after which he started feeling dizzy and died. Boss later ordered us to throw his body in the lake and show that as if it was an accident.

"Anand fought till the last moment. He was really brave," Suraj said to which Raunak nodded.

"Srikhar, handle him with utmost care. I've got some work to do. Raunak could you please write an address for me?" Suraj asked.

"Sure, sir!" Raunak said and wrote the address.

"Our case is almost solved," Suraj told Raunak.

"Almost?"

"Yes, I wonder where that recording would be? Anyways, see you later," Suraj said and left for his home.

The next day Suraj was eagerly waiting for something. He got a call in the afternoon after which his facial expression changed.

"Raunak, I think the case is solved. Do you know this school, Universal?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Great! We are going there. Anand's little brother used to study there."

They got into the car and headed to the school.

"Don't you want to say anything?" Suraj asked.

"What, sir?"

"How and when did I start investigating Anand's case?"

"Sir, both cases were interlinked so you might have started investigating. But you didn't tell me."

"I wanted to, but I wanted everything to be sorted before I tell this to anyone. It was already too late but I wanted to bring justice to Anand. I have always worked alone so got habituated like this. Don't you want to know how I did it?"

"Of course, I do."

"It all started when Bajpai revealed to us regarding the scam. I asked Srikhar to bring me Anand's file. I studied it and started working on it from that day," Suraj said and told him the whole story.

"Oh! So, when I called you were about to go to school?"

"Well, that was my initial plan to get to the office as soon as possible but then I decided against it and went to school. Do you know what I discovered there?"

"What, sir?"

"Come on Raunak, a.k.a Anni. Don't act innocent. You know everything, am I right? Regarding the diary, and recording, I want to hear it from your side."

"Since, you already know everything why you don't find the recording by yourself, SIR? By the way, how did you get to know it was me?"

"Well, we are on the way to find the recording. As far as how is concerned, you were a bright student just like your brother. It is obvious you were famous. I got your photo. I didn't believe it was you at first, I thought it was someone else who has striking similarities with you. Since, the photo was from your younger self, I didn't want to believe the truth. But I sent the photo to the Aadhar enrollment center and asked them to find if anyone named Raunak was enrolled with these facial features. They asked if I had any fingerprint, so when I came here, I asked to write an address on a paper. You did, I got the fingerprints from there. Do you know one more interesting fact?"

"What?"

"I also wanted to confirm your handwriting because when I read Anand's diary I observed 'M' was written in a different way which I already saw somewhere else too. When you wrote the address for me with an 'M' it was matching exactly. I sent your fingerprint and handwriting for test and today afternoon I got a confirmation that it was indeed you. This is my part, now start with your part. Why did you do this? Why did you kill both of them?"

"Why? Huh! Like any other person who believes in the law, I too believed. But do you know when I went to the police station to lounge a complaint, the so called 'police' didn't help me? They weren't ready to file a complaint against THE MLA and the NTA's head person. When I told them that I have proofs they were much more interested in getting those proofs rather than filing a complaint. I understood that this thing won't work. I also knew since they now know about the proof, they wouldn't leave me. I have a lot of trophies at home. I hid that recording in it and placed it in my school. I wrote the diary without leaving any details my brother filled."

"Your brother did write a diary, then? We have reached our destination. Let's go in."

Raunak's lip twitched a little to smile. They were in front of Raunak's old house. 

"Yes! He did write a diary. I didn't want anyone to harm the last thing my brother owned. I don't have anyone. My mother couldn't tolerate my brother's and father's death and lost her senses. She later died. One of my relatives was kind enough to shelter me. I later collected the recording from the school and took the diary and left. I studied harder to get into this profession because this is the only profession through which I could reach the murderers of my brother. Once I graduated, I did my research on the investigators of this place and by far you seemed to be the most intelligent and genuine person. I respect you, sir. I do. After two unsuccessful attempts, I finally managed to work under you. Come in, sir," Raunak paused.

"I don't know what to say, but I think you should have waited for justice. You shouldn't have taken the illegal path."

After listening to this, Raunak's lips twitched again.

"I was the witness, sir. I saw my brother dying at their hands. I tried to get justice the legal way, but it didn't work. You know how I might have felt seeing my very own brother poisoned by someone. I wanted to scream. I wanted to tell everyone what I saw. But it wouldn't have changed anything except for one thing, instead of one body people might have found one more body in the lake. I was ready for that too, but my brother made me promise to bring it to all those students who have worked hard for their exams but got cheated by these bastards. He wanted to bring justice to the students who committed suicide because of someone else's fault. My brother was my hero. I wanted to bring justice to him and to all the other students who suffered from this. After a long wait, I got a chance," Raunak said while searching. "Here! The recording of Aman's confession to Dheeraj's murder."

"You were able to get his confession?"

"Yes, sir! I did. I called Aman and told him that I have questions regarding Dheeraj's murder and I know that he is the one who murdered him. But I won't tell this to anyone if he helps me. He was trapped. I added poison to his drink when I got a chance and threw him in the same lake, he and his father threw my brother into. His father was affected the most by the loss. I took the perfect opportunity and entered his house and comforted him saying I would definitely catch the culprit. But he didn't know that he was sitting with the very culprit he was searching for. I did the same thing I did to Aman. Both were sealed with the same fate."

"Why do you believe me? I could be like them."

"Sir, I think you missed the part where I said I did my research. If I wasn't sure about you, why would I leave traces of mine? Why would I leave my previous school's details in DNR school? Why would I not try to remove my photos from my school? And why would I update my Aadhar? I am sure, you might have observed that, am I right?"

"Yes! The Aadhar was updated recently. You knew all these. You should have told me; I would have helped you."

"You might have. But their connections aren't weak. They wouldn't even have entered the jail; they would have got their lawyers ready. This is the recording which lead to my brother's death. I don't want his sacrifice to go in vain."

"I promise you that your brother's sacrifice won't go in vain. And I also promise that no matter how powerful the culprit is if I am handling the case; I would make sure to send them behind the bars. As for you, you have murdered two people, it doesn't matter who. But I'll try to reduce your punishment as much as I can," Suraj told Raunak with a sad smile.

"I know, sir! But I know it's impossible specifically if it's a high-profile case. But thank you!" Raunak said with a genuine smile. "This is my brother's diary, sir!" Raunak handed Suraj the notebook he always used to carry with him.

"All along this was in front of me," Suraj asked to which Raunak nodded.

Later that day, Raunak was arrested but he was smiling brightly.

Srikhar asked Suraj how to come he didn't realize it earlier and how did this happen. Even Srikhar wasn't able to believe all this.

"Raunak was bright, in fact, if he didn't want, I wouldn't have caught him. He left all the clues. If he showed the trust in the administration now like the way he showed six years ago, things would have been different," Suraj told Srikhar.

"It definitely would have," Srikhar agreed.

They were looking at Raunak's smiling face. A smile that Suraj or anyone never noticed before. A smile that held a promise to his brother that he finally brought justice. A smile that he might have lost with the loss of his brother. Maybe because he knew he would be joining his family soon.