Chapter 3

After a week, ETE Conference Room

Morning 9.00am

Everyone present in the conference room except Saakshi. All were waiting for her.

Arjun : (being impatient ) Rathod, why we are waiting for that girl? She's already late, let's just start our discussion. Aisha or Shree will brief her later.

Rathod : But we have to wait, Rawte !! She have some important Data we need.

After long 15 minutes, Saakshi entered the conference room, gave Rathod a file and without looking at anyone, she moved towards the projector, insert the data card, started it, and sit in her usual place.

Arjun looked at her with annoyance, while Rathod was doing the same with amusement. And the rest of the team were doing it with pure confusion in their eyes.

Rathod : Now guys, we have a case. It's about the so called Haunted Mehra Mansion situated in the hilly outskirts of Mumbai. It is a posh area as well, a number of celebrities and businessmen of 50's had bunglows there, this area is nither within the city nor so far from it plus. So famous people liked this place for their private sanctuary. We all have read recent incidents connected to this mansion.  3 corpses have been found from the mansion 4 days before. After that police sent an investigation team there but unfortunately all are injured. (meanwhile the projector displays the steel footages accordingly)

Arjun : That means somebody attacked them.

Rathod : Precisely we don't know, Chief investigation officer had an heart attack and he's unconscious, Second one is in shock and the third one doesn't willing to open his mouth, he's too scared.

Arjun : And the dead bodies?

Liza : Yes sir, they are Mr. Vikram Vadera, his son Jay Vadera and the third one is Mr. Dayal.

Chotu : Vadera's are well known industrialists of the city. Mr. Vinay Vadera has built this empire with a great effort. His son, Jay Vadera was his only son and like his left hand in the business. And the third man, Mr. Shivshankar Dayal is a senior executive officer in HSS Bank (bank name is imaginary).

Arjun : So, two industrialists and a banker found dead in that old mansion and It's a police case, why ETF? Just because of this high profile people?

Shree : Sir, Initially it was a police case but police team was under attack and any other police officers are not willing to handle this case further.

Rathod : DIG sir has assigned this case  to ETF. And one of our team member is personally interested in this case also. Right Saakshi?

Saakshi : Well, Jay Vadera was my friend & ex-collogue's fianc. And she's quite upset after this accident. In fact, she became quite unstable after they found his dead body.

Arjun : OK then. What do we know about Mehra Mansion?

Saakshi : Mehra's were well known landlords from  North-East. In 1890 they've built this Mansion to spend their times  during business visits in Mumbai and around 1950's the whole Mehra family shifted here.

Aisha : Around 60's Mehra Mansion was renovated by Ravindra Mehra, a well known architect of his time.. He redesigned the Mansion inside out...he said that this mansion as his dream home.

Saakshi : After his death, the mansion was  owned by his only son , Yatin Mehra. He was an actor. Did some 2-3 films which were flopped badly. & then started doing side roles, and finally managed to establish himself in the industry...precisely in art Films.

Rathod: He was a good actor indeed. We saw some of his wonderful works ... (looks at Arjun and Arjun looks away). Um.. Then?

Aisha : But he was  vary spendthrift. He didn't care a straw for money. Whatever he earned, he spent more than that. He got everything he wished to have. Cars, Clothing, party. Liquors, luxury, etc. He renovated and redesigned the mansion several times. Consequently, he was under huge debts. Finally, he lost everything except that mansion.

Saakshi : Then he isolated himself for everyone, started living alone as his most of the friends left him. Only two people left in his life, his girlfriend Maya and his manager, Sharma. They were with him until he died in 1990.

Arjun :  I know, he died in a car accident, it was a drink and drive case. His car fell in a gorge from the side of the road. That too in the link road to his mansion.  Anyways, then what happened to the mansion?

Saakshi : The Mansion as mortgaged to bank, and the bank took over the mansion after his death.

Arjun : What about  his manager and his girlfriend?

Saakshi : His manager went abroad after that and died last year. And Maya got married with a ordinary middle class man, Nitya Chandra Swami. He's a pigeon farmer.

Shree : Nitya Chandra Swami ? South Indian?

Saakshi : Yep from Kerala. He's a well known figure among the bird collectors in Mumbai... He has a nice collection of fancy pigeons and other birds . However, he's famous for his pigeons.

Rathod : But what about Maya. As I remember, she was an actor too... and had a good career. Why she left everything and took such a career-destroying step.

Saakshi : After Yatin's death nobody even saw her face once, She isolated herself from every one. She even didn't came to Yatin's funeral. After 3 months of that, she married Nitya. Her mother confirmed the media about her marriage.

Arjun : That means, nobody's left to claim Mehra mansion. And the bank must auctioned it. Who owns it now?

Saakshi : Jay Vadera.

Everyone's shocked at her answer.

Saakshi : Jay's father bought the mansion from bank last month and gifted him that, as his wedding gift.

 Arjun was the first to recover from the shock.

Arjun : Saakshi, it's no fun! who owned it before Vadera? Who bought that mansion after the bank auctioned it?

Saakshi : Vadera bought it from the Bank, Arjun.

Rathod : What? Bank took over the mansion in 1990, and Vadera bought it in 2013! Saakshi, are you serious? Why bank hold this property for this long? They must sold it to someone else before Mr. Vadera.

Saakshi : I've found this information from the bank. Look at the file in your hand. I've also found something interesting about the Mansion and my sources are checking them. I'll give them after their confirmation.

Rathod checked the file , he was puzzled.

Arjun : Lets go and check the crime scene, maybe we can find something else.

...

How was it? give me feedback, either positive or negative.