Surprise!!! 
So before anybody asks; No, this is not the CID crossover story. That is still under writing and will hopefully be completed by the time I finish crawling.
This one might not be updated as regularly as I do. Wednesday updates will be on like usual. Some random days this one will be updated.
Raaz
The farmer whistled against the soft rising sun. With an axe in one hand and firewood hoisted on his shoulder, he made his way across the forests. He jumped over a fallen log. His foot fell on something soft, making him lose balance. He fell along with his wares. Thankfully, the hatchet got stuck in the tree.
Remembering his Gods and mother in the minute of pain, he managed to stand up. He tittered seeing his bundle of sticks scattered on the forest floor. The man cursed and finally turned to inspect what made him fall.
The ground beneath him swept away.
Man: AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
He hurriedly tried to get away but slipped and fell again.
Two hours later, a police tape was pulled around the scene. Men in khaki were inspecting the area. The sharpest, most crisp uniform of all had bent down on his knee to inspect the body that had alarmed the living daylights of the poor farmer.
The body was young. Probably in his late teens or early twenties. He had curly hair and appeared to be well dressed in a branded T-shirt and cargo pants.
The sub-inspector, a bodybuilder came up to him: sir, accident case hai. Yaha toh aaye din ye bache drugs ke nashe mein girte padte rehte hai. Nashe mein upar se yaha khaayi mein gir gaya hoga
Another piped in: ha sir, Chotu sahi keh raha.
His senior answered without looking up: ye accident nahi murder hai
Chotu and Patil sighed. They were really hoping that it was a drunken brawl between kids at the most. But no! Trust ACP Arjun Suryakant Rawte to see a body and declare it a murder.
Chotu: ye aap kaise keh sakte hai sir?
Arjun turned the head and pointed to the wound on the back of his head.
Arjun: ye ghaav ekdum seedha hai aur gehra hai. Girne par pathar, lakdi lagne se aisa ghaav nahi banta. Kisi ne ise maara hai aur fir yaha par feka hai ya fir dhaka diya hai… ID mili?
Patil showed him the wallet and identity card: ha sir, Shreekant Mukherjee naam hai iska. Umar 20 saal aur sir address bhi hai
Arjun: acha, Aadhar card par address bhi hota hai? Mujhe toh pata hi nahi tha
Chotu giggled.
Patil(sheepishly): are sir main toh bas isliye keh raha tha kyunki address aam nahi hai. Ye Mukherjee waalo ka ladka hai. Ye address unka hai
Arjun: kaun Mukherjee?
Chotu: sir, kisi zamaane mein woh pariwar yaha ke sabse bade zamindaar hua karte the. Woh jo aam ke saare bageeche haina? woh unhi ke hai.
Patil: sir zamindaari bhale na rahi ho lekin abhi bhi woh sabse izzatdaar logon mein se hai.
Arjun: body ko autopsy ke liye bhejo. (pulling out his gloves) tab tak in izzatdaaron se milkar aate hai. Kaha rehte hai?
Chotu: wahi estate mein sir, 500 acre ki zameen hai unki
Mukherjee estate-
The police jeep drove through the expanse of mango orchards to reach the Mukherjee house at the perimeter of the man-made jungle. It was like travelling in a different city altogether. That area of Madh was on the leeward side of urban development, surrounded by hills and forests. The settlements there were scattered in small colonies at every kilometre or so. The estate was a mini forest within the seat of nature. 5 square kilometres was a huge amount of land. However, that did not mean that it was solitary, no. Neither the estate, nor the town. Tourists, estates, elite farmhouses, weekend getaways and parties of all sorts were a part of this semi-urban region.
The men in khakhi stepped down. Arjun looked around. A gardener was watering the plants. A woman gasped upon their arrival and ran inside the house from the patio. The house was one storey but it was spread laterally instead. It would easily have 5-6 bedrooms. Probably more. There were three cars parked near the lawn. A Mercedes, a BMW and a Scorpio.
Arjun walked straight up the steps and rang the doorbell. Patil and Chotu followed him.
A servant opened the door. He gulped in fear seeing three police officers in front of him.
Arjun walked in. The lady was right there. It seemed she had already gathered the entire household. Wearing a chiffon saree, she appeared to be in her late twenties. A mangalsutra adorned her neck. A man stood next to her, probably her husband. His height was similar to Arjun, complexion not so much. A thick black moustache complimented his fair complexion. Apart from them, there were two other middle aged couples. All of them looked at Arjun and his men with confusion and questions.
The older man cleared his throat: ji inspector?
Arjun: ACP Arjun Suryakant Rawte, Mumbai police
He corrected himself: maaf kijiyega ACP sir, aap yaha?
Arjun: pehchaan ke badle pehchaan hoti hai Mr. Mukherjee, sawaal nahi
He glanced at the family for a second before introducing himself.
He cleared his throat: Main Rajesh Mukherjee. (he gestured to the family one by one) ye meri patni, Naina. Mera chota bhai Nilesh, uski patni Rohini. Ye mera beta Sameer aur uski patni Ayesha.
Arjun: bas?
Rajesh: ji?
Arjun: ghar mein aur koi nahi hai?
Nilesh: hai, mera beta Shree…
Arjun: kaha hai?
Nilesh looked at his wife in return.
Rohini: woh so raha hoga lekin aapko usse kya kaam hai?
Arjun smiled smugly: acha?
The servant stepped forward meekly: memsahib, woh Shree baba toh raat bhar ghar hi nahi aaye
Rohini: acha
Patil and Chotu looked at each other in surprise wondering what was wrong with the family. How did they not know Shree wasn’t even in the house? Arjun took the liberty of sitting on the sofa.
Arjun: waah? Beta raat bhar ghar nahi aaya aur maa-baap ko pata tak nahi
Sameer: dekhiye, kabhi-kabhi use late ho jaata hai toh apne doston ke ghar ruk jaata hai. fir subah ya dopaher ko laut aata hai. Wahi kahi hoga lekin aapko mere bhai se kya kaam hai?
Arjun: toh aisi baat hai. phone karo use.
Rajesh: lekin kyun?
Arjun glared at him.
Sameer: main karta hun
Patil whispered to Chotu: are phone toh humare paas hi hai, sir aisa gol-gol kyun baat kar rahe hai?
Chotu could only shrug in response. Sameer dialled Shree, the ring rang. The next second, Shree’s ringtone reverberated through the air. Chotu pulled out the evidence bag containing his phone from his pocket.
Sameer: Shree ka phone aapke paas kaise?
Rohini: uska phone chori ho gaya hai kya?
Arjun: paas ki khaayi mein hume ek laash mili hai. uske paas se ye phone aur Shreekant Mukherjee ke naam ki ID mili hai.
Rohini cried: KYA BAKWAS KAR RAHE HO TUM????
Nilesh: Itna Bhada Mazak Karte Hue Tumhe Sharam Nahi Aati ACP!!!
Sameer: ye kya bol rahe hai aap? Shree ki laash? Aapse zaroor koi galti hui hai. Shree apne dost ke ghar hoga. Chacha, chachi, aap shaant ho jayiye. Main abhi uske doston ko phone karta hun. Abhi doodh ka doodh aur paani ka paani ho jaayega!
Arjun: uski koi zaroorat nahi hai
Rajesh: zaroorat kaise nahi hai? aise kisi ke bhi ghar mein jaakar kuch bhi bolte ho upar se…
Arjun: Patil!
He stepped forward with photographs of the body.
Sameer grabbed them. The ground beneath him swept away. He collapsed on the chair. His lips quivered but only air came out of his mouth.
Sameer: Sh… Shree!
Terrified, Nilesh grabbed the photos. Ayesha held Sameer’s shoulder, in a futile effort to comfort him as she teared up herself. Rajesh froze seeing the images. Nilesh felt sick seeing the dismembered body of his son.
Nilesh: Shree!!! (Rajesh hugged him) bhaiyaa!!! Mera bacha!!
Rohini fainted, whispering her son’s name.
Naina: Rohini!
Sameer recovered upon registering his aunt losing her footing. They caught hold of her and she burst out crying. She bawled, screaming her lungs out.
Arjun’s gaze darted across all of them. Distraught, devastated. And yet, he couldn’t shake off the inkling that something was off.
He spoke after a few minutes: aap mein se do logon ko humare saath morgue chalna hoga laash ki pehchaan karne ke liye
Rajesh controlled his emotions: laash nahi hai woh, humara beta hai
Arjun: woh toh tab banega jab aap log use pehchanenge
Rajesh was about to retort angrily when Sameer interrupted.
Sameer: papa, main aur Ayesha jaate hai. hume… hume uska antim sanskar bhi toh karna hai. hum Shree ko ghar lekar aate hai
Arjun: nahi
Sameer: ji?
Arjun: Shree ki body hum abhi handover nahi kar sakte
Sameer: lekin kyun?
Arjun: autopsy baakhi hai
Sameer(appalled): autopsy? Autopsy kyun karni hai?
Arjun: kyunki uska khoon hua hai
As if the news of the death was not enough, the declaration came in crashing like a drunk truck driver.
Rohini: khoon? Kisine mere bache ka khoon kiya hai?
Naina: ye aap kya keh rahe hai? koi bhala Shree ka khoon kyun karega? Woh toh bacha hai. Abhi kuch mahine pehle hi toh 20 saal ka hua hai. Uski bhala kisi se kya dushmani?
Arjun: nahi hoti toh uska khoon bhi nahi hota. Khair! Tum dono humara saath chalo aur yaad rahe, jab tak case solve nahi ho jaata hai tab tak koi bhi sheher se baahar nahi jaa sakta.
Sameer: Shyam kaka, Birju se kahiye ki gaadi nikale
The servant nodded and hurried to the door.
Arjun: ruko! Chotu, gaadi ke tyre se sample lo. Andar se talaashi lo.
Rajesh: talaashi? Humari gaadiyon ki talaashi kyun?
Arjun: sawaal main karunga Mr. Mukherjee aur jawab tum sab doge warna… samjhe ya samjhau?
Sameer(shocked): aap… aap hum par shak kar rahe hai?
Arjun: ha
An uproar erupted, screaming, shouting and accusing. Arjun gestured to Chotu to carry on.
Nilesh: TUM KEHNA KYA CHAHTE HO? HUMNE KHUD APNE BACHE KA KHOON KIYA HAI?
Arjun: kisine toh kiya hai. acha hoga agar tum log cooperate karo warna mere paas aur bhi tareeke hai
Saying so, he walked out.
Rajesh: iski itni himmat??
Sameer: papa, aap kisi senior se baat karne ki koshish kijiye na
Patil: are sir, ye ACP Arjun Rawte hai. Pure area mein sabse senior ye hi hai. IPS hai. Aur uske ek hi saal mein ACP bhi ban gaye. Aapko pata hai kuch dino pehle woh Sikandar pakda gaya tha jo idhar drugs ka mafia chalata tha, usko ACP sir ne hi toh pakda tha. Sikandar samet aadhi gang ka toh encounter kar diya tha saahab ne. Aap log shanti se baat kijiyega warna agar unki khisak gayi na toh… deva, deva, deva!!!
Dramatically, asking forgiveness from his Gods above, he left.
Rajesh: ye toh…
Sameer shook his head: papa, woh sab baad mein dekhenge, main aur Ayesha morgue jaakar aate hai.
Sighing, Rajesh nodded.
The couple reached the morgue along with Arjun and his officers. Ayesha pressed the end of her pallu to her nose. The stench of the place was unbearable. She held onto Sameer, feeling nauseous.
The body was lying on a stretcher. The autopsy had just begun.
Ayesha couldn’t bear to look. She hid her face in Sameer’s arm. He swallowed the lump in his throat.
Arjun: ye tumhara bhai hi haina?
Sameer: ha
Arjun: Patil inse form fill karwa do
He nodded and led them outside. Arjun turned to the doctor.
Arjun: maut ka time kya hai doc?
Dr. Manav: sir, lagbhag kal raat ko 9 se 12 ke beech ka hoga. And jaise aapko shak tha, kisine maara hai. ye ghaav, natural terrain ka ghaav nahi hai, kisi lohe ke rod wagera se maara hai. Ya toh usse iski maut hui aur fir khooni ne use khaayi mein fek diya ya fir maarne ki wajah se khayi mein gir gaya hoga.
Arjun: doctor kya aap ye bata sakte hai ki iski body andazan kitna giri hogi aur kitni dur se
Manav (thoughtfully): Ha analysis karke pata kar sakte hai
Arjun(irritated): nahi pata kar sakte toh tumhe yaha hona bhi nahi chahiye. Main analysis ke baare mein hi puch raha hun
Manav adjusted his spectacles: oh sorry, sir postmortem pura ho jaaye uska baad hi main andaaz laga sakta hu
Arjun: theek hai, jaldi karo.
Sameer asked Arjun, seeing him step out.
Sameer: hume Shree ki… Shree waapis kab milega?
Arjun: do din
Sameer sighed and nodded. The clerk gave him three more papers to sign. Arjun gestured Patil to a side.
Patil: ji sir?
Arjun: lady constables se kaho ki estate pahunche. Sabse puch-tach karni hai. Aur post-mortem ke baad doctor girne ki height aur distance batayega. Mujhe laash ke point se chaaron disha mein uska map chahiye
Patil: theek hai, main abhi wireless par message bhejta hun
Clerk: ACP sir! Aapki bhi signatures chahiye
Arjun turned to sign. With the paperwork done, they all made their way back to the Mukherjee estate. Sameer and Ayesha were surprised at the police jeep following their cab. They were even more surprised to see more police officers already stationed at the house.
Rajesh was arguing with Chotu at the entrance of the house.
Arjun stepped down from the jeep: kya drama chal raha hai yaha?
Rajesh: ye tum batao ACP, ye log keh rahe hai ki ye humari puch-tach karnewaale hai
Arjun: galat keh rahe hai (walking in and making himself comfortable on the sofa) tum logon ki puch-tach main karunga
Nilesh: ghar mein maut hui hai aur tum log ho ki hume pareshaan kar rahe ho? Sharam nahi aati tumhe?
Arjun leaned forward: ghar mein khoon hua hai aur tum log investigation nahi hone dena chahte?
Dumbfounded, the brothers glanced at each other……………………….
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