Deadly Robbers Outwitted

Dark clouds covered the sky with a flash of lightning appearing occasionally. Sona Kapoor, a private detective, had a murder case to investigate. There had been a spate of unusual murders with burglaries in the city. The victim was a forty-five-year-old woman living in Andheri. Her body was in an awkward position. All the valuables were missing from the cupboard.

Sona asked Inspector Ranjeet Kolharkar," Could you tell me something about this woman? What might be the time and cause of her death? Was she living alone or with her family?"

He commented," Mrs. Padma Giri, a neighbour of the victim called us at around 12.30 PM. She was a good friend of the victim. She wanted to ask her out for shopping. She suspected a foul play when the deceased lady Seema Agarwal didn't attend her phone calls. She decided to pay a visit to her house. She persistently pressed the doorbell. Seema didn't respond. She called the watchman asking him to break open the door. She screamed when she saw her friend lying motionless. Everybody rallied around her to have a glimpse of the poor woman."

Sona asked him," Have you notified her family members? Why haven't they come yet?"

The inspector told her that she was a widow,and her son lived in America with his wife. She had no proper family. Sonal thought," What a pity! I feel sorry for her." Sub-inspector Shirke was puzzled. He scratched his head, as he mulled over the case. The inspector and Sona observed him looking puzzled. " What's bothering you, Shirke?" commanded the Inspector. Shirke said," There are no fingerprints at all. The murderer must have wiped them after committing the crime. We have tried using the special spray without any success." Sona wrinkled her nose as she smelt a weird perfume emanating from the dead body. The policemen were watching her intently. They had high regards for her detecting skills. She had helped them solved several complicated cases of theft and murder. She remarked," There is something wrong with this woman. It smells like an aftershave lotion or men's perfume. Her face is quite familiar. I would like to meet her neighbours before we leave." The apartment had two bedrooms with a living room and kitchen. It was moderately furnished. Sona checked out one of the bedrooms. When she opened the closet, a skeleton tumbled upon her. She shrieked out in fear. The inspector rushed to help her. He stood still in disbelief. " What the hell is going on?" he asked her," How does one murder lead to the discovery of another?" Sona voiced her thoughts by saying," I have another surprise for you. Look at the wardrobe. Men's clothes occupy maximum space with a few sarees. How can a woman clad herself in men's clothes?" The inspector agreed with her. They moved on to another bedroom. There was nothing except a single bed and a dressing table. Sona entered the kitchen. She was stunned to find an empty modular kitchen. There was no gas stove.

"I have never seen anyone stealing gas stove and provisions," said Sona. The constables Ramu and Pradhan discovered some metal scraps in a trash can outside the kitchen. There were plenty of screws and other hardware items. They called the inspector to show their finding. Sona slapped her hand on her forehead. She was quite excited. She said," What a fool I have been! I just remembered something. Do you have any tissue paper?" They gave her a puzzled look. She noticed a bundle of tissue paper kept on the cabinet above the wash basin. She took out a paper and wore gloves in her hand. She went near the body and gently rubbed the lady's face. The makeup peeled off from her face giving her a masculine look. Sona explained," Meet the infamous international crook, Alam Khan. The Interpol has issued a lookout circular for him. He disguised himself as a woman and carried out his illegal business. There is a puncture mark on the left side of his neck. It seems that someone injected him with poison. His lower lips have turned blue." Ranjeet exclaimed," You did a marvellous job. How did you figure out the true identity of this guy?" Sona responded," She or rather he used a men's perfume. I knew that smell because my husband uses the same brand. There was a mismatch between the saree and the blouse. The wardrobe and the kitchen gave away 'her' secret. There was not even a gas stove in the kitchen. Even the laziest of the women certainly need it for preparing tea or coffee. I want to check those metal scraps and the skeleton." It was fun working with her. Shirke commented," This case is turning out to be a bit complicated. We find a dead criminal with a skeleton in the wardrobe and some junks of metals. I am so confused that I can't make heads or tails out of it." They retraced their steps to the bedroom with the skeleton.

Sona examined the skeleton with a magnifying glass. She paid a closer look at one of the bony fingers. She felt something odd about it.

She screwed it anti-clockwise. She held her breath in astonishment to see glittering diamonds on the floor. There was a pin drop silence. They collected all the evidence including the skeleton and the metal pieces. Sona asked the inspector to send the body immediately for the post-mortem. She decided to cross-examine Mrs. Giri. The latter welcomed her and prepared tea for them. Sona said," I am sorry to bother you, Mrs. Giri. Could you please tell me something about the victim? " Mrs. Giri commented," Mrs. Agarwal moved into this apartment around six months ago. She was a weird woman. She never mingled with anyone. I decided to strike a conversation with her. I went over to her house and offered to help her with the interior decoration. She thanked me for my timely help. Our friendship blossomed over the months. I must say that she had a poor choice of clothes. She never really cared for her appearance. I never saw her going out shopping. I happened to visit her when she was sick. I sneaked into the kitchen to prepare tea for her. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a kitchen devoid of gas stove and groceries. I turned back to see a furious Seema glaring at me. She scolded me for entering her kitchen without her approval. I apologised to her and told her about my noble intention. She calmed down a bit. However, she made it clear that I should not go beyond the living room. I never saw any woman in my life with such a nasty temper. I think she ordered food from outside."

Sona probed her," Do you remember the face of the person who brought her food?" Mrs. Giri shook her head in response. She asked Sona to check out the recording from the CCTV camera. She called up the secretary of the society to help Sona. The latter called up the inspector and told him about the CCTV footage. The police were still stuck in the apartment waiting for the ambulance. Ranjeet and Sona watched the video recording in the laptop. A young man rang the doorbell of the victim. He was wearing a white shirt with a red waistcoat and a black trouser. She paused the video and zoomed the image. He had come from the Hotel Rohini which was a few blocks away. The victim opened the door and dragged him inside the house. " That's weird," said Sona, " Why did he drag him inside? He should have taken the food and sent him after paying the bill. We have to meet this waiter. He holds the vital clue to this whole affair." The downpour finally subsided after an hour. The ambulance arrived to take away the body for an autopsy. Sona accompanied Ranjeet in his jeep to the hotel for an investigation.

The inspector asked the manager about the waiter who delivered food to Mrs.Seema Agarwal of Minerva Apartment.

Rakesh appeared before them. He was shivering from head to toe. The inspector calmed him down and said," I want you to answer some of my questions. What do you know about Seema alias Alam Khan? How did you get involved with him? The Interpol has issued a warrant for his arrest. We have found his dead body in the living room. We want your cooperation to arrest the murderer. Please don't hide anything."

Rakesh took him aside and said," I am shocked to learn about his death. He was not a crook as you think. He was an undercover cop working for the Interpol. The CBI had sought his help to expose the Diamond Bandits gang.

Their modus operandi consisted of selling robots to the housewives at an affordable price. These robots would complete all the menial tasks on their behalf. They would transmit the information about the family to the gang members. They would also kill the women by injecting poison. The gang members would decamp with the booty. Their headquarters is in New Delhi. They are extending their illegal operations all over the country. You must be already aware of their vicious attacks in Mumbai. Mr.Khan joined their organisation pretending to be an escaped convict. He passed on their information to the police. They conducted raids on their premises. Most of the gang members arrested. The police confiscated the smuggled goods like diamonds gold and silver. The chief suspected him to be a traitor. He hired his men to follow Mr. Khan with his trusted robot. Mr. Khan came to Mumbai carrying precious documents and evidence implicating the notorious gang. I happened to meet him in the shopping mall. He was talking over the phone seeking a house on rent.

I happened to hear him and introduced myself. I told him about the vacant flat at Minerva Apartment.

He moved into the flat on the very next day. He came here to thank me for my help. He spoke to me about his adventurous life. He told me about his plan to disguise as a woman. He gave me a bag containing some documents. He wanted me to give it to the police in case of his death. I went to his apartment at around 10 AM. I heard some men threatening to kill him. I fled away from the spot leaving his food behind. Please wait here while I bring the bag. I am glad that you came here to relieve me of my troubles." The inspector was surprised by the turn of events. He turned around to see Sona sitting on a table tapping her fingers impatiently. The waiter brought a small leather attache. He gave it to Ranjeet who thanked him for the information. He signalled Sona to follow him. He told her everything that he had learned from the waiter. Sona accompanied Ranjeet to the Andheri police station.

They went through the diary and the papers. The Diamond Bandit gang had planned to rob Ghanshyam Das Jewelry stores on 24th September 2018. Sona was astonished to find that the gang leader was none other than Ghanshyam Das. He was not only wealthy but also gave away lots of money in charity. He was like a messiah to the poor. Who would have thought that a messiah had an ugly face as well? He was a dacoit and a cold-blooded murderer. He used robots to steal jewellery and murder women. He didn't want to leave any fingerprints while committing the crime. He had planned to get away with his jewellery and the insurance money. He had discovered that Khan was an agent of the Interpol. Ghanshyam Das had asked his henchmen to get rid of Khan by using the robot. They had destroyed it after finishing the job. The police foiled his attempt to escape and raided the residence of the gang members. Mr. Khan left behind a valuable clue in the form of a diary leading to their arrest.

Sona and Ranjeet congratulated each other for solving the case in no time. The entire police department observed silence for two minutes as a mark of respect for Mr. Khan. He was a true hero to take on a gang of robbers.