Posted on by Aranyascope

Once Upon A Time

Long time ago, at least 30-32 years, an incident happened that left an indelible mark in my memories, it was unbelievable but I being the witness can’t deny it. I am a student of science; I only believe in facts and logic but I couldn’t either disprove or prove it with logic or science. Let me elaborate and you, the reader take the call…

I had just graduated BSc (Hons) from college and as I was fascinated by the image of police, appeared, cleared and joined the police force as Sub Inspector. My first posting was at Digha as the second-in-command of the newly created police station under the SHO Pulak Roy.

In those days, Digha wasn’t like what it is today, yet to become a tourist hotspot, although the govt had decided to make it a tourist attraction and as a first step created a police station having jurisdiction of Digha, Ramnagar and Paniparul and some smaller towns besides the scattered villages. We would often go for a nightly round of the areas right from Ramnagar covering the district. It was mostly peaceful area with a rare fight amongst the neighbours and fewer incidents of theft. I was happy and enjoying my police duties.

I still remember, it was a Saturday and a new moon night, the surroundings were pitch dark, black and the stars were shining bright now but an hour back a heavy downpour has made the tarmacked road even more black. We were returning from Ramnagar to Digha on our nightly round. At the front of the vehicle, I was sitting in the middle between the driver and the SHO, Pulak Babu. At the rear, 4 armed constables were sitting and at least one of them had managed to doze off…snoring lightly. I looked at my watch, the radium dial confirmed the time to be exactly 2 am.  

The headlight of the jeep was cutting the darkness like a hot knife on butter, there was silence in the vehicle except light rhythmic snoring of the constable and sound coming from Pulak Sir as he kept his cigar burning by frequently puffing out the smoke.  

We would occasionally cross a sleepy village waking up the dogs who would bark aloud to warn the residents of our intrusion. The driver was expertly cruising at a decent speed.

Another village came up on the horizon, we will be soon pass by it waking up another set of street dogs. Suddenly, we saw a man standing in the middle of the road with raised hands as if asking us to stop. The driver angrily honked to make him clear the route but the man stood to his ground. As we close on the man, we could see that he was a villager in simple clothing. The driver stopped the jeep very close to him. Pulak Sir got out, irritated, about to admonish the man but before he could, the man started howling hysterically, “Murder… murder, Sahib, please come quickly before they run away.” The voice of the man sounded like it was coming from far although his lips were moving in sync.

Pulak Sir raised his hands to signal him to stop and asked, “Where, who has been murdered?”

I was observing the man, his eyes seemed absolutely still, cold and stoned, expressionless.

Without answering Pulak Sir, he said, almost whispering, “Come with me Sir, quickly, they might be at home still. Come quickly, follow me.” The man walked towards the village through the wild growth with ease, we followed him but strained to keep pace with him. The constables followed behind us while the driver remained with the jeep.

Pulak Sir whispered to me, “The man seems mysterious, be careful.” I was a bit shocked, as Pulak Sir spelt out my own thoughts. I took out my revolver and signalled the constables to be watchful and ready with their weapons. Pulak Sir had got the name of the man… Madan, a resident of the village.

The man continued through the path ignoring the obstacles and the muds created by recent downpour.

“Are you planning to murder us?” Pulak Sir asked Madan, sarcastically.

“What are you saying Sir? I am not capable of killing even a mosquito. Look we are here at the spot.” Madan pointed towards a banana tree and said, “Below that banana tree is the dead body. They have buried the body here couple of hours ago.”

“Who are they?” Pulak Sir demanded to know.

“They are 4 of them.”

“Please say the name of those people.” Pulak Sir asked, visibly irritated by Madan’s evading answer.

“Here Sir, below this tree.” I focussed my torch, the tree seemed to have been planted recently, the trunk of the tree is not firmly aligned with the ground and recent rain has loosened the soil around it. There were marks of footsteps and chunks of salt on the ground as well.

“Shall I dig out the body?” Madan started digging with his bare hands without waiting for the answer.

“What are you doing? Stop it. We will come back in the day time with proper equipment and witnesses and dig out the body.” Pulak Sir said. Madan stopped digging.

“You tell me the name of the culprits.” Pulak Sir asked again.

Instead of naming the murderers, Madan showed sudden urgency, “Please come with me Sir, they are still inside the house.” He was probably afraid that the culprits will run away.

Pulak Sir asked two of the constables to stay near the banana tree and rest to follow him.

“No need for them to stay here, I will ensure no one comes here.” Madan assured.

We followed Madan through the zigzag path of the village, one or two dogs barked after being disturbed of their sleep. Madan stopped in front of a single storey house pointing to it, he said, “They are all inside that room, all four of them.”

Pulak Sir signalled the constables to take guard around all the exits of the house. I went up to the door and knocked, “Open the door, you are surrounded by the police.” I could hear noises coming from inside the room, probably the goons are getting armed. I kicked the door open and entered along with Pulak Sir and Madan. There were four of them with knife and machete ready to attack us… but, wait a minute, they dropped their weapons at the sight of Madan and surrendered. The constables had the four men handcuffed.

“Let’s go and dig out the body.” He said looking at Madan.

We reached the spot where the banana tree was loosely placed on the ground leaning on the shoulder of another tree. “Madan, we need a mason to dig the soil and a witness as well.”

“No problem, Sir, I will go and get the mason and the Sarpanch for the witness.” Madan said and walked quickly into the darkness.

After a while, a man came with a spade, “Madan sent me to dig.”

“Where’s Madan?”

“He has gone to call the Sarpanch, Jagdish Babu.”

“He should not run away; we will need him to file the case.” Pulak Sir thought aloud.

“What case Sir?” asked the mason.

“You dig carefully. We have to take out the dead body in one piece.”

“What dead body Sir? I won’t touch any dead body at this hour.” The mason cried out.

“If you don’t dig out the body, I will put you in jail along with them.”

Reluctantly, the mason started digging again. Meanwhile, the eastern skies had lighted up indicating the imminent sunrise. Suddenly, the mason croaked unfathomable words and fainted.

At that very moment Jagdish Babu came panting, “Madan said that someone has been murdered and sent me here to identify the body.”

He looked at the dug out dead body, “O hell, what am I seeing?” He rubbed his eyes sharply and said, “This is the body of Madan… but how is that possible… he came to my house… I spoke to him…” He sat down overwhelmed by the turn of the event.

The murderers turned towards Pulak Sir and cried, “Please lock us up at the police station, Sir. Otherwise, the spirit of Madan will kill us. We admit to murdering him in a fit of anger.”

I still vividly remember the above incident even after so many years. I still don’t believe in paranormal but how do I explain what happened in a remote village of Digha…

Posted on by Aranyascope · 1 Comment

Tatai

It was end of October, Dr. Atunu Sen on earnest request of Dr. Mohan Lal had joined him and his wife Mrinalini for a weeklong stay at the latter’s ancestral home in Hazaribagh. Atanu himself is an ENT specialist while Dr. Mohan Lal is a renowned cardiologist. They have been friends since college days with many similar likes and habits except one, while Dr. Mohan Lal is a complete atheist, Dr. Atanu is a devout of Lord Vishnu and believes in existence of both god and ghosts. In fact, he is so afraid of the latter that all lights of his home are switched on even when sleeping at night!!

Dr. Mohan Lal’s ancestral home is huge, built on a land parcel of over 3 acres with beautiful landscaped lawns and many fruit bearing trees; the custard apple trees are full with ripened fruits. They got down at the Hazaribagh station, a 10-15-minutes’ walk to the home of Dr. Mohan Lal. The station road seemed narrower than the actual because of the vendors occupying the space on both sides of the road with their fares of vegetable, fruits and other home utilities. Behind the line of these vendors were other shops selling meat, fish and eggs. Mrinalini bought vegetables and fruits while Dr. Mohan Lal went to the meat shop buy chicken and fish.

Mrinalini handing over two bags of veggies and fruits to Atanu commented, “We will have to come here every morning to pick-up fresh vegetables and fruits.”

“Where else do plan to take us?” Atanu asked.

“We have come here to relax, no running around for next few days. Get charged for the hectic life back home.” Mrinalini replied with all seriousness.

“What about some sightseeing, going to a few touristy spots? Surely you don’t mean that we come here to shop groceries and vegetables only?”

Dr. Mohan Lal joined them, he had overheard their discussions, he spoke, “Atanu, there’s nothing to see here, only relax, eat, drink, walk around and when you get bored, go back home and to your work. And yes, you get to taste the best Jalebi and Rabri, here in this market. We will come back here to have the Jalebi-Rabri.”

The gate was opened by the caretaker-cum-gardener, Ramdas. He took the luggage and the shopping bags inside. There’s an outhouse close to the main building where he lives with his family. All through the year he tends to the lawns and maintains the house very efficiently. The front lawn was blooming with variety of flowers, the riot of colours and the fragrance made the place vibrant. They sat down there while Ramdas brought them tea and cookies.

Once the sun set over the horizon, the surroundings became very silent. In the afternoon, there were sounds of occasional vehicles and hawkers passing through the streets but now nothing, pin-drop silence. Atanu was feeling uneasy, being a city bred boy, he is more accustomed to the constant noise and honking sound of the city streets. He started probing, “What happens if some one is sick? Are there any hospital or clinic nearby?”

“None, there are no hospital or clinic here. People mostly wait patiently for the fever or cough to get over on its own, praying to the Almighty. If the patient becomes critical, they are taken to Dhanbad. Sometimes, doctors from Dhanbad or Ranchi come here to set up Medical Camps. I have heard that there are few young doctors in Ranchi who have formed an association called Ayurdad, who come here once a month to check on the patients and provide medication.” Dr. Mohan Lal informed.

“What about the crime scene? Are there any robbery, theft, murder reported in recent times?”

“Not that I know of, it may happen once in a while but nothing to worry.”

“And wild animals? You had mentioned that the forest is close to this property.”

“Yes, once in a while a fox or a leopard do stray over from the forest but nobody comes out from their homes at night. You play cricket, football, enjoy a picnic style eating out under the sun during the day, get inside after sun down, enjoy your drink, sing and dance, enjoy hearty dinner and sleep.”

Atanu looked outside through the glass pane of the window, he could see the half-moon behind the eucalyptus trees. The feint moonlight made the atmosphere a bit eerie, he felt goosebumps. Dr. Mohan Lal has been watching his friend and couldn’t resist teasing him, “Oh, I forgot to mention, you know, most of the houses are owned by people who have business or occupation in the cities like Dhanbad, Ranchi, Patna or even Kolkata, they come here once in a while, most of the time, houses are unoccupied, an ideal situation for the ghosts and spirits to inhabit.”

“Please don’t make jokes about ghosts. You know, I am scared of such things.”

“Then, I am sure they will show up to you.” Mrinalini teased Atanu.

“You mean, they exist in this house too?” Atanu was quite shaken.

“We have come after almost five years, the house was unoccupied, there’s a strong possibility that some of them may have taken shelter here.”

Atanu looked at Mrinalini and Dr. Mohan Lal suspiciously, he couldn’t make out if they’re serious or joking. He called out to Ramdas who came immediately.

“Are there ghosts here? And dacoits?”

“Dacoits don’t come here because there are hardly any tourists coming these days and locals don’t possess enough wealth to attract dacoities. They have gone away to other more lucrative areas. But yes, I have heard of paranormal activities in the vicinity. Sahib, you don’t worry, this house doesn’t have any spirits, good or bad.”

“The ghosts don’t come here, this area is populated, they prefer solitude. Most of them live on the other side of the forest, in Ratanpur.” Dr. Mohan Lal having heard the conversation, quipped.

Atanu kept the lights on at night, still had a fitful sleep. In the morning after freshening up and having tea-biscuit, they went to the market for fresh veggies and meat. They decided to have their breakfast at the famous Daroga Singh Kachoriwala where the dal-kachori is said to be the best in the region, they also make very crispy jalebi and creamy rabri.

Atanu had just put a piece of Kachori dipped in the aloo-masala when someone from his behind called out, “Hey, Atanu, how are you? When did you come?”

Atanu turned around to find Subroto Babu with his wife Kaberi and son Tatai coming his way.

“We came yesterday only. What about you, when did you come?”

“We have been here for a week now and getting bored. Nothing to see around, thinking about going back now. How long do you plan to stay?”

“We are here for another 4-5 days at least.”

“Thank God, let’s meet up for lunch or dinner, it would be nice to catch up… please share your mobile number, I will call you.”

“Yes, please give your mobile number, in case of any emergency, we can call someone we know.” Kaberi who was listening to their conversation, spoke up.

“Where are you putting up?” Atanu asked avoiding giving his number.

“We are just behind the forested area at Ratanpur, my grandpa’s house. It’s a 3-story big house in green and yellow colour façade. Why don’t you come with us now?” Kaberi informed.

“Sorry, I can’t come right now, I am with my friends but will come some other day.”

“Then give your number, I will call you to fix for lunch.” Subroto insisted.

Atanu had no option but share his mobile number with Subroto. They went away in their Suzuki Ciaz. Dr. Mohan Lal who has been listening to their chat, asked, “Who were they?”

“Oh, they are my neighbour back home.”

“You shouldn’t have given your number to them.” Mrinalini said but did not elaborate further.

“Yes, but he was insistent, wants to call me over for lunch at their house. It is strange because back home, they keep to themselves, not very friendly with the neighbours.”

“Where are they staying?”

“Ratanpur, at Kaberi’s grandpa’s home.”

“OMG, that area is not good, I have heard of many paranormal instances happening there. You must refuse their invite.” Mrinalini was concerned.

“Shall I tell them?”

“You can, but what’s the point? They probably know and we can’t go there to guard them… moreover, who can guard anyone against the spirits?”

“Let’s not talk about the unknowns. I won’t be able to sleep at night.” Atanu said with a nervous laugh.

“Okay, let’s not talk about them. But I have experienced the presence of the spirit in our house on an earlier visit. I won’t tell you where as we have to stay for few more days.” Dr. Mohan Lal winked at Mrinalini.

“You are a doctor yourself, man of science, why are you afraid of ghosts? Have you ever seen them?”

“Well, the ghosts don’t differentiate between doctors and common man, they attack anyways.”

“Only a female ghost, maybe a Petni or Shakchunni will be after you, they usually speak in nasal tone as they suffer from cold n cough, as an ENT specialist, you are their ideal choice.” Mrinalini teased.

They had a relaxing day, Mrinalini made Chilli Chicken and fish curry with mustard for lunch forcing Atanu to over eat. He slept the entire afternoon.

In the evening, they were chatting when Atanu’s mobile rang. He exclaimed, “It’s Subroto calling, hope he’s not calling me over for dinner now.”

“Brother, I am calling in distress, need your urgent help.” Subroto cried from the other end.

“What happened?”

“My son Tatai is running high fever, since we came back in the morning.”

“Yes, I remember, his eyes were watering and he was coughing too…”

“He has been like that for couple of days…”

“Give him a paracetamol, I will come in the morning but I am not carrying my medical equipment.”

“Have already given him paracetamol but it has had no effect.”

“Sir, please come now and check my son.” Kaberi spoke from behind.

“I don’t know how I can help, we have come here to relax and decided not to bring any medicine or medical equipment, not even my stethoscope. We have no plans to see any patient.”

“Your friend is a doctor too; he probably has a stethoscope.”

“No, even he is not carrying it.”

“Then, can we give him some other medicine?”

“But where will you get the medicine, there are hardly any chemist shop. I suggest, give him another paracetamol and wait for the morning to take him to Dhanbad.”

Subroto agreed and disconnected the phone. However, he called again after an hour or so, “Doctor, Tatai is bleeding from the nose and his temperature is very high. I am very scared.”

“Why?”

“Is it dengue? I have heard it could be fatal if not treated early.”

“It is possible.”

“Please come and check on him.”

“Why don’t you bring him here, you have a car…”

“I can’t, he is bleeding profusely, please come.”

Atanu was confused, “What to do?”

“Tell them to go back immediately, the kid won’t get proper treatment here.” Dr. Mohan Lal advised.

“But Subroto is in dire need, being a doctor, how can I refuse him…”

“It is getting late, how will you go there, we don’t have any vehicle and you are unlikely get a rickshaw to go there at this hour.” Mrinalini said.

“Then you have to pass by the forested area, you may encounter wild animals.” Dr. Mohan Lal added.

“Even if the wild animals don’t attack, the Petni and Shakchunni won’t spare him.” Mrinalini said.

Ramdas, working in the kitchen had heard them, he came out and said, “Saheb, I will take you there, I know the house quite well.”

“All the best. I had warned you about giving out your contact details.” Mrinalini spoke as Atanu left.

Atanu followed Ramdas who have been walking briskly. There were no street lights, only the light coming from the residences lit up the path faintly. Meanwhile, Subroto called up twice and urged him to speed up. Atanu, trying to keep pace with Ramdas, tripped over near the forest but got up quickly. Ramdas came to his rescue and guided him rest of the way.

“There is the house of Dutt Saheb.” Ramdas announced as they approached the big 3-story house.

“Thank the Lord. But what I am seeing, isn’t that Tatai standing at the gate?” Atanu spoke aloud.

“Yes, that’s true. Your friend must have tricked you to come here.” Ramdas said.

“Hey, Tatai, what are doing here? Where’s your father?”

“He is upstairs.”

“He said you are running high fever and bleeding from the nose…”

“I am absolutely fine. Dad easily gets scared and exaggerates… makes big issue of small things.”

Atanu and Ramdas went inside and climbed up to the first floor. He pushed open the bedroom door, Subroto and Kaberi were howling over the very still body of Tatai.

Atanu felt his blood draining out, he collapsed on the floor.

Posted on by Aranyascope

The Roommate

Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction.

Many years ago, while visiting my maternal uncle in Kolkata, I came across a news item in a Bengali newspaper, “A dreaded serial killer, Sikandar Baksh, after brutally killing a businessman of Bou Bazaar is absconding and police believe that he was hiding somewhere within the city only. They were hopeful of arresting him soon…” I read the news in passing and did not give much thought to it.

A few years later, after marrying off his daughter Mimi, my uncle suddenly passed away. It became a handful for my aunt to manage the large ancestral house, it was sold to a developer and she moved in the heart of Kolkata in a rented flat in Tollygunge, till her own flat in the vicinity gets ready.

My job as Marketing Manager took me across the country for short hauls including Kolkata but never for a long enough period to meet any relations, at best I could connect with them over a telephone call. I always spoke to my aunt over phone when I visited Kolkata but couldn’t visit her. Then, couple of years ago, an opportunity came when I had to extend my stay in the city over the weekend and I decided pay her a visit. So, on Sunday afternoon, I checked out of the hotel and went over to her house in Tollygunge.

My aunt was overwhelmed with joy seeing me. She hugged me and took me inside. It was a two-bedroom apartment, small but neat and clean. She asked me about my parents and siblings back home. And how’s my job and long I am in the city. The maid brought tea and snacks for us. She informed that the maid comes in the morning around 8am and leaves at 8pm after preparing the dinner, doesn’t stay overnight. While we were chatting, I could sense that my aunt was anxious about something, her body language suggested that she was under some kind of stress.

“What is it that you are feeling stressed?” I finally asked her.

“No, it’s nothing, I am not stressed but happy to see you after such a long time.” She tried to evade my question. I did not press further.

Later, after dinner, she asked me sleep in her room while she sleeps in the guest bedroom, “You, sleep in my room, I will take the other room.”

“No way, you sleep in your own bed, I will sleep in the guest room and it is a matter of one night only.” I refused her offer firmly.

“Okay, in case you need anything at night, wake me up.”

A sumptuous dinner and the comfortable king size bed soon put me to sleep. The Tollygunge area was infested with mosquitos because of many waterbodies and every household uses a mosquito net besides the repellents at night. Though the peak winter was gone, the nights still had some chill, so the mosquito net provided a bit of coziness that helped in sound sleep… only if one is not awakened by the sudden ringing of the mobile phone.

I was rudely woken up by the constant ringing of my mobile phone that I had kept on the bedside table along with my wristwatch and purse. It took me few moments to figure out where I am and where’s ringing sound coming from, and then few more to slide my hand out from the mosquito net. And then I got the shock that sent a chill through my spine… a black hairy hand holding my phone extended towards me… just the hand from the elbow to palm was visible. My throat became dry, I could hardly speak, mustering courage I shouted, “Who are you? What are you doing in my room?” But I guess only a throaty groan came out. Meanwhile, the phone had stopped ringing and the black hairy hand placed it back on the table as my aunt knocked on the door, “Bubai, are you okay? I heard some noise…”

I got out of the bed and opened the door to let aunt come inside. She switched on the light and examined the room, everything was in its place, nothing missing. At last, she said, “Did you had a bad dream? Because the sound you were making usually happens if you are having a nightmare.”

“Yes, aunty, probably it was a nightmare.” There was nothing else to explain otherwise. Moreover, I did not want to scare her unnecessarily.

She put on a night lamp and went back to her room. Though, I was a bit scared and kept searching the room in the low blue light of the lamp for the black hairy hand and the person that it belonged, but eventually sleep overpowered my anxiety. The night passed without any further disturbances. In the morning after breakfast, I took leave from my aunt promising to meet her again not knowing that was the last I have seen her alive.

My cousin, Mimi, herself an engineer had married a techie and settled in Bangalore, we kept in touch through social media and occasional telephone calls as life became busy with our involvement in our own family and career advancement. Even that became irregular to the point of just wishing each other on special occasion and festivals.

Last Sunday, I got a call from my cousin Mimi that her mother, my aunt had passed away and the last rites will be performed at Kolkata and she will be grateful if I could join them as I am the only relative, she has now from either side of her parents. I told her that I will finish my work on Monday and take the late evening flight to Kolkata.

I reached Dumdum around midnight, coming out from the airport found Sujoy (Mimi’s husband) waiting for me. It took us 40 minutes to reach Tollygunge, though I wanted to stay in a hotel, Mimi insisted that I stay with them, she actually emotionally blackmailed me to stay with them. Besides the three of them, Mimi, Sujoy and their son Rupam, the full-time housekeeper of my aunt were present when I reached. After chatting for a while, we retired for the day, I was directed to a guestroom when I realized that this is a bigger and different apartment than where I had last visited. I asked Mimi, “This is a different apartment, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is a different and bigger apartment than where you last stayed.”

“What happened? When did you buy this and why the change?”

“It’s a long story; I will tell you tomorrow but promise that you won’t make fun of it.”

I promised her not to make fun of her but became impatient to hear all about it.

During the day, we remained busy with arrangements for the last rites besides attending to visitors and relations who came to express their heartfelt condolences. At last, after dinner, I could get hold of Mimi and demanded to know the reason for shifting the house. We were sitting in the living room. Mimi went inside and came with a slim file, composing herself, she started narrating…

A few months after you visited mother, few unnatural things happened in that house, the part-time maid often complained to mother that whenever she went to the guest room to clean in the evening, she felt the presence of someone else in the room. Maa dismissed her saying it was all psychological and eventually told her to clean the room when daylight is still there. This helped to an extent but then even Maa could hear footsteps in the adjoining room whenever she woke up at night. She did not tell us or anyone else lest we feel distressed living far away from her. Then, Sujoy came to Kolkata on work and decided stay with her instead of the company guesthouse. She told him to take her room, while she sleeps in the guestroom but Sujoy flatly refused.

The first two nights passed peacefully, nothing untoward happened or Sujoy was too tired and slept soundly through the night. On the last night of his stay, he and Maa chatted quite late into the night. He tried reasoning with her to come and live with us in Bengaluru. She was adamant that she cannot go and live with her daughter, typical traditional mentality.

Mimi looked at Sujoy and said, “Why don’t you narrate the incidence yourself?”

Sujoy:

I was a little disturbed because, with age, Maa’s health was an issue but I could not dent her traditional thoughts. I kept tossing and turning, it took some time for me fall asleep. I don’t know how long I had slept but woke up as I felt someone is nudging my pillow and breathing heavily like when you experience nose block. I was sleepy, thought Maa is trying to wake me up needing some help. I opened my eyes and froze. A very dark muscular man with thick black moustache is looking at me angrily, his eyes were burning red. I tried get up but he forced me down, his black hairy hands started strangling me… he was saying something in a language I couldn’t understand. I gathered all my strength and pushed his hand away from my neck. In the sudden act of mine, the man lost his balance and fell backwards hitting the table, toppling it. I ran out of the room on to the veranda chanting Gayatri Mantra and taking deep breath. Once I had calmed down, gathering my wits, I came back to the room and switched on the light, the clock showed 4:45 am, only an hour away for sunrise. The table had indeed toppled, my phone, purse and the watch lay all over the floor. But there was no signs of any other person except a foul smell of rotting animal filling the room. I was surprised that with all such commotion and noise, Maa did not wake up. I took the chair outside, sitting on the veranda waited for the sunrise.

In the morning, I called up Mimi asking her to take the next flight to Kolkata without explaining the reason, called up my office to inform of my extended stay in the city for family emergency. I realized that Maa had been taking sleeping pills probably to avoid the nightly encounter with her roommate.

While having breakfast together, Maa suddenly pointed to my neck and said, “What are those blue marks on your neck? Tell me what happened in the night.” There was shock and terror writ on her face. I dismissed her fear saying I do get such marks not just in the neck but other parts of the body sometimes and it goes away on its own, the doctors have assured nothing to worry. By the look in her eyes, I knew she did not believe me.

I went to office to finish few urgent assignments and picked up Mimi from the airport. Maa was surprised and happy to see Mimi. Together, we put pressure on her to shift with us to Bengaluru immediately. Reluctantly, she agreed to go on a temporary basis till this apartment gets ready. She was with us in Bengaluru for six months and moved in this apartment. Mimi arranged for a full-time housekeeper to move-in with her. She stopped taking the sleeping pills and lived peacefully.  

Sujoy stopped and Mimi extended the slim file towards me. I opened it to find few newspaper cuttings inside. I started reading the news article from The Telegraph:

In a recent raid to a warehouse in Khidirpur, police have not only recovered huge quantities of drugs but have arrested two dreaded criminals having link to the still absconding serial killer Sikander Baksh. On sustained interrogation, the duo admitted being close associates of Sikander Baksh. Together, they had murdered the businessman from Bou Bazar and had taken shelter in an under-construction house in Tollygunge hiding from the police. There, they had an argument about sharing the loot and in the heat of the moment they had killed him and buried the body in that building.

The report further said that, police having secured the permission from the court had dug up the said house and retrieved the physical remains of a body. The DNA test confirmed it to be of Sikander Baksh.

At the end of the article, there were two photographs, a file photo of Sikander Baksh and that of the house from where the body was retrieved, the address plate next to the gate made me choke, it was the house where my aunt used live and I had spent one tormenting night.

I closed the file and returned it to Mimi. She looked at me questioningly for my comments. I decided to keep my experience with me. I still don’t know if it was real or just a bad dream, moreover, a closer has happened, so why rake up the past.

Posted on by Aranyascope

Sujan

A month back Inspector Satish Chauhan has come to village Bakheta, 40 minutes’ drive from Rohtak city as SHO (Station House Officer). He has been transferred here as punishment for not adhering to the dictate of a minor politician with enough influence. The police station is away from the centre of the village, near the main bus station. His residential quarters a further away… 10 minutes’ walk from the chowki, a small pond behind the house and then the cultivable land spreads as far as one can see. Satish liked the place, being in mid-forties, he is done with the cat-n-mouse chase. His son has just started his engineering degree course from NIT Kurukshetra. Satish has already decided to quit once his son graduates, going back to his village near Ambala and doing farming like his father.

The Bakheta village is mostly peaceful with some incidences of snatching and theft once in a while. In all such cases the culprits were apprehended within a few days. Satish loves to read, especially fictions and has brought with him few boxes of books. Most of his free time is spent in reading these books. He also takes a stroll along the pond going into the fields of wheat cultivation.

He was returning from morning walk, when he saw constable Deepinder waiting for him at the gate of his quarter. As he approached him, Deepinder spoke with urgency, “Sir, please come to the station immediately.”

“Why? What happened? Is it a case of theft or murder?” Satish asked.

“No Sir, nothing of that sort… the Panchayat Pradhan Rajbir Jangra is waiting for you.”

“So? Let him wait. I will come in a while. If he needs urgent attention, SI Amit Kumar is there to attend.”

“Sir, he wants to talk to you only. He is quite influential and close to the ruling political party. I suggest you meet him as soon as possible.”

“Okay fine. I will join you in 10 minutes.”

Panchayat Pradhan Rajbir Jangra was waiting in his office and stood up as Inspector Satish Chauhan entered, “Good morning, Sir. I am Rajbir Jangra. I wanted to meet you for long time but couldn’t because of work pressure. Besides being a businessman, I am also the Panchayat Pradhan of Bakheta village… but my visit has nothing to do with either. I have come to invite you for the “Mundan ceremony” of my grandson. You have to come to the party in the evening.”

“Thank you for the invite, I will try my best but can’t promise you. You know, our job is 24×7, don’t know when some emergency incidence happens.”

“No, no, you will have to come, I will send the car for you.”

“Okay, I will come for a short while.”

Looking out through the window, Inspector Satish watched Rajbir Jangra getting into his BMW SUV and wondered from where the wealth comes to these guys.

Constable Deepinder came in with a tray, a cup of tea and a plate of bread-pakoda, breakfast for Inspector Satish Chauhan. After placing the items on the desk, he stood at the side. Satish has found the young boy quite intelligent and logical. He looked up at him and asked, “What’s the matter Deepinder? Do you want to say something?”

“Sir, this man… Rajbir Jangra is not a good person. He is not only corrupt but can go to any length to achieve his objective. He had a business partner who just vanished one day… it is rumoured that Rajbir murdered him and burnt his body in his farmhouse.”

“Deepinder, it is just a rumour, no proof or witness, we can’t act on it on mere suspicion.”

“Sir, my distant cousin works at his home as a security guard, I will ask him for more information.”

The week passed peacefully without any incidence in village Bakheta. On Saturday, Inspector Satish Chauhan went to Rohtak on a case related to his previous posting and returned late in the evening. He saw the familiar BMW SUV outside the police station but still asked the guard, “Who’s car is this?”

“It belongs to Panchayat Pradhan Rajbir Jangra. He has sent it to take you to his farmhouse.” The guard informed as a matter of fact.

It would not look nice, if I don’t go, thought Satish and told the driver that he would soon join him after freshening up. The farmhouse, more like a palace, was lit up for the celebrations and Rajbir came quickly to welcome his special guest, Inspector Satish Chauhan. He introduced him to the other distinguished guests and to his son. The party continued till almost midnight… Satish had called for his vehicle not wanting to take any favour from his host.

The farmhouse was on the other side of the village, the driver finding the roads devoid of traffic was cruising at a good speed, Satish seating at the rear seat dozed from the days’ exhaustion and the hearty meal at the farmhouse party. Suddenly, the driver applied hard break and the vehicle stopped with a screeching noise. “What happened?” Satish asked.

“A young boy came running on the road.”

Satish was surprised, “Young boy? At this hour in the middle of nowhere? Are you sure?”

“Yes sir, I saw him zigzagging in front of the car.”

Satish got out of the car to inspect. In the darkness, as far as he could see, there were no settlement, only cultivated land on both side of the road.

“You must be feeling sleepy. There are no houses anywhere in the vicinity. Drive carefully.” He instructed the driver irritatingly.

On reaching the police station, he checked if anything needs his attention but the duty officer informed that all are under control. Satish crashed out once he hit the bed. A low noise of a child crying woke him up, he checked his wristwatch, it was 2 am. Being a police officer, he’s trained to be attentive at all times. He tried to concentrate on the crying sound, it was coming from the rear of the house… picking up the 5-cell torch he went out to check.

The light from the torch though powerful did not show up the source of the crying. Satish walked towards the sound in complete darkness trying to focus the light pinpointing the source. He stopped, the light has caught the source… a young boy of 10-12 years wearing shorts and a torn t-shirt standing near the pond crying. Satish rushed towards the boy but his foot hit a stone, losing balance he fell down. He wasn’t hurt and got up quickly. The boy had vanished. He focused the beam all across the banks of the pond but couldn’t find the boy.

He came back wondering if the young boy is same one that the driver saw!!

Over the next two days, he became busy with managing political rallies of the rival parties and forgot all about the young boy. He was driving back home late at night when he had to apply the brake with full force… out of nowhere, a young boy, dangerously came running in front the police jeep. He shouted at the boy, “Hey, who are you? Be careful.”  The boy looked back at him and then ran away in the darkness. Satish tried to see where the boy went but couldn’t.

The following morning, he enquired in the police station if anyone had seen a young boy of 10-12 years age in the vicinity but no one could recall seeing. The driver said, “Sir, you did not believe me the other day when I was driving, now you have seen him too. I have a feeling that the boy is an apparition.” Satish is a logical person, doesn’t believe in paranormal, he dismissed the driver, “What nonsense, there’s no such thing. You check the neighbourhood for the kid, his parents must be informed.”

A few days later, he was finishing his reports when Panchayat Pradhan Rajbir Jangra landed in his office with large box of sweets and said, “Sir, the other day when you came, I couldn’t take good care of you in the midst of so many people. Please join me and my family this coming Sunday for lunch. I would feel honoured.”

Satish knew that being the SHO of the area, he will occasionally get such invitation. He politely tried to decline, “On Sunday, I have to go to Rohtak on urgent work, I won’t be back before evening.”

“Then let’s meet for dinner.” Rajbir was insistent.   

Satish, though irritated, calmly replied, “I can’t say anything right now, I really don’t know when I will be back here on Sunday evening… it all depends on my work.”

It was late evening on Sunday when Satish returned to the police station. Deepinder was at the gate, “Sir, Rajbir Jangra had sent his car for you but I told the driver that you aren’t back from Rohtak and we don’t know when you will come.”

“Good, if his man comes again, tell him that I am still not back. Now, is there anything else, otherwise I will go home for the night.”

“No Sir, everything is okay, you take rest.”

Satish walked the short distance from the police station to his home… getting closer he saw the BMW standing in front of his house. Rajbir came out from the passenger side and greeted him, “Sir, good to see you, I have been waiting for you only.”

Satish had no place to hide, “Okay, let’s go but I am very tired, will not be able to stay for long.”

Rajbir had made a fabulous arrangement, a banquette in honour of his guest. Satish was feeling tired and was seating alone in the porch when he noticed the same young boy standing at the distance. He got up to go catch the boy but he vanished quickly. Satish became pensive, the boy was trying to tell him something… he must do something, but what?

On Monday morning when reached his office, Deepinder was waiting for him, “Sir, we have found the boy, his name is Sujan… missing for last two weeks, only child of his parents. They are frantically searching for him.”

Two days later, Satish woke up in the middle of night… he heard the low crying of a child again. He quickly dressed up and went out to look for the boy. He was standing at a distance and started walking as soon as he saw Satish. This time, Satish did not call out but started following the boy. They walked quite a distance, the boy never looked back as if he was certain that Satish was surely following him. After a time, the boy stopped in front of big house and looked at Satish, his eyes were sad and begging for help. Satish looked at the house and realised he had been to this house, a couple of times, the farmhouse of Panchayat Pradhan Rajbir Jangra. The house was in darkness, the inhabitants sleeping comfortably. The boy had vanished again, he came back in silently before anyone could spot him.

Satish could deduce that there are strong connections between the missing boy and the house of the Panchayat Pradhan. He will have to find out. He will ask Deepinder to investigate.

Two days later, Satish was in his office when Deepinder came rushing and said, “Sir, very bad news. The little boy was murdered by Rajbir and buried in the lawns of his farmhouse.”

“What? Who told you?” Satish asked.

“I told you earlier that my distant cousin works at that house as security guard, he narrated the whole incident. The boy had entered the lawns to pick some fruits, one of the guards caught him and presented him to Rajbir Jangra. In the fit of anger, Rajbir hit the boy on his head with his walking stick. It was struck so hard that the boy died instantly. The body was buried at the corner of the lawn and everyone involved were paid handsomely to keep quite.”

Inspector Satish Chauhan was aghast at the brutality, he immediately arranged a team to search the house. He personally went to the district magistrate’s office to get the search warrant and requested him to keep it under the wraps as he feared someone in the DM’s office in the payroll of Rajbir Jangra might tip him off.

The lawn was carpeted with nicely manicured grass, the police team searched the place with hawk eye. One corner of the lawn seemed different from the rest, it had been dug recently and filled up again but unevenly, the loose soil, a tell-tale sign. Satish ordered his men to dug the place; it did not take much digging, the body of Sujan wrapped in gunny sack came out. The parents of the boy were summoned to identify. They broke down seeing the mortal remains of their only child. Rajbir Jangra along with the gardener and the guard were arrested immediately.

That night, Satish was finding it difficult to sleep, he went out to the porch and his eyes caught the sight of the boy named Sujan. He was saying thank you to Inspector Satish Chauhan.     

Posted on by Aranyascope

The Woman with the Infant

The moment the train left the station, Indrajit realized, in the hurry to catch the train he had forgotten his prized torch at his uncle’s home. He hoped to retrieve it on his next visit. The weather had turned sultry and humid even though it was just mid-May. He thanked his stars that he could get the AC 2-Tier ticket under the Tatkal Seva of the railways. He settled down in his cubicle and after a while realized that he was travelling alone in that section, the other three berths in his cubicle were unoccupied, very unusual, he thought.

He took off his shoes and made himself comfortable pulling up the blanket as air in the cubicle became a bit chilly. He took out the book he purchased from the station before embarking the train and started reading it. The train picked up speed, the gentle movement of the coach and the clanking sound soon made him sleepy… he slowly dozed off.

The ticket checker woke him up. As he was checking the ticket, Indrajit asked, “Aren’t anyone coming for these three berths?”

The ticket checker, looked through the chart and replied, “A family of three will embark from the next station.”

Indrajit was relieved and happy that most of the night, he will be alone in the cubicle… he doesn’t enjoy the company of strangers while travelling in a train. He usually reads a book or listens to music looking through the window, the vast canvas that nature presents, brings joy to him. He was contemplating on picking up the book again when the catering staff brought his dinner. He finished his dinner peacefully alone and washed up. He prepared his bedding and switched off the main lights, only blue night lamp in the corridor were lighted. He pulled up the blanket to cover his head and was soon in deep slumber.

The train was cruising at a decent speed when there was loud noise and the train stopped with a jerk. Indrajit woke up with a startle, the train coach was pitch dark, even the blue night lamp on the corridor was not on anymore. He sat up on his berth looking to figure out what has happened; when his eyesight settled in the darkness, he realized someone was occupying the opposite berth. The train started moving again, the night lamp too started glowing and in that feint light, Indrajit figured that the new occupant is a young woman with an infant. She had her head covered with her dupatta or the scarves as is the local custom for married women.

The ticket checker had said there will be a family of three coming for the vacant berths, where are the other two members? Indrajit was in a dilemma… what if the others got left behind… he asked, “Are you alone? Where’s rest of your family?”

The woman kept quiet, did not respond… probably did not understand English. He tried again, this time in Hindi but the woman still did not respond. It would be impolite to press further, Indrajit thought as he lied down to sleep again. But the sleep eluded him, he felt something is amiss. After a while the infant started crying, the woman sang a lullaby to sooth the baby but it had no effect, the infant was hungry, probably. The woman turned the other way to feed the baby, Indrajit got up to take a stroll while giving her some privacy. He walked along the corridor to the other side of the coach… he was surprised that all the other occupants were fast asleep, oblivious to the crying of the infant. He opened the coach door and felt the gush of fresh warm air. He lit a cigarette took few quick puffs before throwing it, closing the door, he walked back towards his berth. He saw the woman with the infant walking to the other side of the coach. She walked out of the AC cabin, intrigued, Indrajit followed her… just in case she needs any help. He stood behind the glass door watching them. The woman holding the baby in one arm, opened the compartment door, a gush of wind caught her, letting go her dupatta, a beautiful young woman turned towards coach door retrieving the dupatta and covering her face. The woman then stood dangerously close to the door cooing to the infant. Suddenly, she lost the balance due to the movement of the speeding train and the infant flew out her arm into the darkness outside. She flung herself in the air behind the child in a futile attempt to catch the disappearing infant. Indrajit, involuntarily let out a cry for help waking up the others in the coach. He rushed to the open door to see outside but only pitch darkness greeted him. He shouted to his travelers, “A lady with her infant just fell out of the train.” Then without waiting for the others to act, he pulled the emergency chain with full strength. The train came to a halt in the middle of nowhere. He along with few others climbed down to check but by then the train had covered a good distance from where the woman had jumped.

The railway guard and the driver along with few policemen came to the coach from which the emergency chain was pulled. “Who pulled the chain and why?” asked the guard. The co-passengers pointed towards Indrajit, “He pulled the chain” they spoke in unison.

“Why?” asked the guard again.

“The infant slipped away from the woman’s arm and she jumped to save her child.”

“What woman? Which berth?” asked the guard.

“She was on the berth opposite mine. Probably came in from the last station.” Indrajit replied.

“Sir, the train is running non-stop since we started without halting even for a minute.” The guard replied clearly irritated for this unnecessary delay.

“The berth, you are referring is vacant, the reservation is from the next station which is still few hours away.” The ticket checker chipped in.

The driver had been silent all this while, now he spoke, “Do you recall the woman? Was she young with an infant, maybe 3-4 months old?”

“Yes, that’s correct.” Indrajit replied enthusiastically.

“Oh no, she’s appeared again.” The driver said.

“Who’s woman? Do you know her?” asked the guard.

“Sir, few years ago, I was the co-driver on that fateful night, a young woman with her infant son was travelling in the AC Coach. The kid was crying a lot, so she came out and was standing on the doorway when the child slipped away from her arm. She jumped after him to save but both of the died that night. The bodies were found in the morning by the villagers.”

Indrajit was visibly shaken. The driver put a hand around his shoulder and assured him, “She only shows up once in a while but has never harmed anyone.”

The guard hurried everyone back in the train and signaled the driver to continue. Indrajit thought he wouldn’t get any more sleep that night. However, the gentle swinging of the train put him to sleep anyways.

The sudden jerk woke him up. All his senses became hyper active as the crying of a baby wafted through the air. He sat up and froze instantly… the woman with the infant was sitting on the berth right opposite his.