“Tashi said you had shared her images with your friends?” Inspector Indrajit Bhowmick replied. “See, Akash,” he continued in a deathly calm voice. “If there is anything you are hiding from us, it will save you a lot of time and physical discomfort if you tell us right away. Otherwise, we have ways to extract information that will make you wish you had never been born.”
“I shared none of her images with anyone, sir. I only showed it to one friend. I promise I did not even let him hold my phone while looking at the picture,” Akash cried. He was trembling, his limp hair soaked in sweat and falling over his forehead. If Tashi saw him now, she would be amused to note it was straight today and not curly.
“Did you ever leave your phone unattended when that friend was around?” Inspector Indrajit asked. He was pacing around the room, his arms crossed, the fingers of his right hand tapping impatiently on his elbow.
Realisation dawned on Akash’s face as he mouthed, “Yes sir, I might have.”
Indrajit walked up to the table and sat opposite Akash. “Did he know the password to unlock your phone?”
“Yes sir,” he said in a small voice, eyes filled with shame. When the inspector said nothing, as if waiting for more information, Akash continued, “I might have shared it with him on a couple of occasions when he had to use my phone.”
Indrajit looked him in the eye. Then, without warning, he brought his fist down and slammed the table hard. Akash jumped in his chair, his whole body trembling with fear. “Please believe me,” he sobbed. “If I knew something like this would happen, I would have never stored those images in my phone.”
Indrajit looked at him for a full minute. Then he got up slowly and adjusted his shirt. With his right hand, he picked up his Police cap from the table separating them and left the room, leaving a whimpering Akash staring behind him.
“The suspect appears too soft-skinned to lie to the police, sir. Do you believe him?” sub-Inspector Rajat of Delhi Police Cyber Crime Cell asked.
“In cases of revenge porn, the ex-lover is usually the culprit trying to get back at the women who rejected them,” Indrajit said. “But this couple broke up almost four years back. And this man is speaking the truth – I can see it in his eyes. The possible suspect now is the friend, Ravikant. Make sure you do a background check on him and pay him a visit.”
“I will, sir,” Rajat said.
“My instinct tells me this is a different case altogether, Rajat,” he said frowning. “Did you check the CCTV footage in front of the victim’s house on the day the blackmailer turned up at her doorstep?”
“I did, sir,” Rajat said, eyes downcast. “But there are no cameras in the area covering that particular view of the road.”
“Okay. Has the report on those phone numbers the blackmailer used come back?”
“Yes sir,” Rajat replied opening the file in his hand and flipping through the first few pages. “Most of the messages that were sent to the victim’s phone were from untraceable international numbers. But on the day when he came around her house, he had called her using an Indian number. The person in whose name this sim card is registered was reported dead two years back.”
“Hmm,” Indrajit said, looking through the report. “So, he used this dummy sim card only once and discarded it?”
“No sir, he used this number five times,” Rajat said pointing at a circled number on the file with his index finger. “The sim was activated once in Patel Nagar and another time at Cyber City. But on the rest of the three times, it got activated at Sector 29, Gurgaon. Twice, he used it to send a message to the victim after 11 at night. So, I am guessing that might be where his home is located.”
Indrajit nodded, his eyes crinkled in thought. “Sector 29 is a large area. We can’t go knocking on every door to see if we have our criminal. Do we have any leads on the emails he sent?”
“All of them were sent through an anonymous email system. I called them this afternoon to ask which IP address was used to send emails at those particular times. But when we tracked the IP address, we reached Tor’s exit node.”
“Hmm,” Indrajit said. “That happens because the Tor proxy bounces all traffic through the Tor network and then out into the network, making it virtually impossible to know what information is being accessed and who accessed it.”
“Exactly, sir. The blackmailer was brilliant. There is no way to track the IP address through which he sent his emails. Every lead we had hit a dead end,” Rajat replied in a dejected voice.
“I hadn’t expected him to be this careful,” Indrajit said, thinking hard. “Majority of the cases of cybercrime against women go unaccounted for because the victim is too terrified to register a complaint. We cannot have it easy, Rajat. We have to catch the criminal and teach him a lesson.”
Sub-Inspector Rajat opened the folder in his hands with a dejected look on his face. “I agree, sir,” he said. “But there is no way to know which Tor user is accessing what website.”
Indrajit paced on for a while and then stopped in his tracks. He turned to face Rajat, eyes lit with excitement. “What if we turn his weapon into his weakness?” he said.
“I didn’t quite get you, sir,” Rajat replied, looking up from the files.
“What I mean to say is, the criminal tried very hard to maintain anonymity,” Indrajit said with a faint smile, stretching his muscular arms. “But what if we use his anonymity to find his identity? The list of Tor entry and exit nodes is public, isn’t it?”
“Yes sir.”
“That means the internet service providers can't tell us which websites have been accessed, but we can find out which users in Sector 29 have been using Tor on those dates, right?”
Rajat quipped in, “Right. And only a few internet users are aware how to use Tor. Then that would mean-”
“Our list of suspects would be narrowed down by as much as 90%,” Indrajit finished the sentence for him with a faint smile.
Rajat wiped the perspiration on his forehead with the back of his sleeve as Indrajit paced the room again, talking very fast. “I want you to contact every internet service provider covering Sector 29 and find out which users have routed their traffic through Tor in the past month. Use all your Cyber Cell clout, Rajat, but get me this information by tomorrow.”
Rajat saluted as Indrajit left the room, his eyes glinting with the adrenaline rush.
***
In an act of defiance, Tashi had turned her phone back on that night after returning from the police station. There were no new messages or calls from the blackmailer.
It was surprising how much strength her mother’s support seemed to lend to her frayed nerves. That night, the two of them had dinner together after a long time. In haste, her mother prepared a simple meal of rice and steamed vegetables, but to Tashi, that tasted better than anything she had eaten in months. She didn’t sleep in her own room that night, for the fear of unknown demons still assailed her. She and her mother shared a blanket, and for the first time since the blackmailer had contacted her, Tashi had a peaceful, dreamless sleep.
She went to work the next day. It was difficult to mask her anxiety every time her phone vibrated, but she held herself together. Inspector Indrajit had called her up in the morning informing her of the leads they were working on. “We expect to have the criminal behind bars within this week,” he had asserted. His confident tone had given her some hope.
Manav had been in touch throughout the day, asking her for updates and telling her to be strong. Tashi had isolated herself from human contact for so long, that this sudden rush of concern felt overwhelming. When he asked if they could meet in the evening, she had almost refused, saying she was busy. But she held herself back at the last moment. I cannot live my entire life crawling inside a shell, she thought as she agreed to meet Manav at a cafe later that day.
That evening, for the first time since the blackmailer had contacted her, Tashi spent some time in front of the mirror admiring her reflection before heading out. She had sh
owered after office and put on a knee-length black dress that hugged her slender curves. She painted her lips a dark shade of red and pouted in front of the mirror, striking a pose, sucking her tummy in. Satisfied, she put on her black heels and stepped out in the warm Gurgaon air.
Manav was waiting in the street below, dressed in black jeans and a casual brown shirt with white checks. He was fiddling with his phone, but when he saw her, his eyes lit up. Tashi greeted him with a hug and surprised him by smiling.
Once they were both settled in and Manav had gunned the engine to life, he looked towards her and asked, “How are you holding up?”
“I’m doing good,” she replied nervously, “I suppose.”
“Well you certainly look a lot better than you did yesterday.” She smiled faintly at this. “Did you get any more messages since we last talked?”
She shook her head. “Well, let’s not ruin this evening by talking of things that aren’t in our control,” Manav said as he placed his hand over hers and gave it a slight squeeze.
Tashi smiled and replied, “Yes, please.” With her left hand, she adjusted her hair and looked towards him. “I was so caught up in my troubles yesterday, I didn’t even ask anything about you. Tell me, how’s everything?”
The rest of the car ride passed by in a blur as Manav updated her on the goings on in his office and life in general.
When they reached the café, a waiter smiled perfunctorily at them and held the door open as Manav held two fingers up and mouthed, “Table for two.”
Tashi walked in confidently, but the lights, the music and the constant murmur of the people huddled inside made her uneasy. She shivered as Manav led the way to their table, and sat down, feeling the old anxiety return. She knew everyone else was engrossed in their own world, but, to her, it felt as if they were sneaking sideward glances at her, as if they knew her secret and were smirking amongst themselves at her plight. The more she tried to hide it, the more constricted her chest felt. She held on to her facade of being brave, till at one point, she burst into tears in the middle of a story Manav was narrating. He stopped and extended his hand across the table to take her hand in his. He held it until she was done crying and said, “I can only imagine the pain you must be going through. But, have faith, Tash, things will be all right soon.”
“What if this is the calm before the storm? What if he gets angry and does some irreparable damage?” she asked him.
“Then we will take him down. I called Inspector Indrajit this morning to ask about the progress they were making. He assured me they had things in control and even if the blackmailer did something rash like uploading your pictures online, the Police will get them removed as soon as possible with a legal notice.”
Tashi thought about the damage the pictures could do to her reputation in a few hours. She closed her eyes and shook off the terrifying thought. “Just trust me on this, Tash,” Manav was saying. “We will let nothing bad happen to you.”
Though her eyes still held a worried look, she wiped her tears and gave his hand a little squeeze. “I am so grateful I have you.”
“As you always will,” he assured her.
“I feel so scared,” she said in a small voice, eyes downcast, lips set in a frown.
“I would be lying if I said I am confident. But we have the authorities on our side. And more importantly, you have your mother’s support. You’d be surprised if you knew how much easier life gets when we have our loved ones ready to be the parachute when life throws us hurtling down the abyss.”
She looked up with a small smile and nodded, not trusting herself to speak lest she burst into tears again.
Manav gave her a reassuring smile. “If you don’t let me finish this story now, I promise I will call you at night and keep talking until it is finally done. Don’t blame me for your dark circles the next morning.”
This time, Tashi had to struggle not to laugh at the irony.
***
When Inspector Indrajit entered his office the next morning, his subordinate, Rajat, was already present with a report. His bushy moustache was combed to perfection, and he had a faint smile on his face when he saluted. “Sir, I called the friend of the ex-boyfriend who had seen the pictures to the station and grilled him for five hours. I am pretty sure he isn’t aware of this. Also, I had the location records from his phone checked. The man was in his home on the day the blackmailer appeared in front of the victim's house.”
The inspector frowned. “Why do you look so happy then?” he demanded.
“I had to resort to some underhand tactics, sir, but I found out which people in Sector 29 used Tor on those particular dates in the last month.”
“How many people are we talking about?”
“Only two, sir,” Rajat replied with a triumphant smile. He handed him the report file and pointed to the information that had been highlighted. “One of them is a college student, He has been staying in Gurgaon in a one-room apartment for the past 5 weeks. And the other works in some IT company and has been living in his 1-BHK apartment since the last three years.”
“Hmm,” said Indrajit, thinking hard. “Did you check if either of them has a black motorbike?”
“I did, sir,” Rajat replied. “Neither of them do. It must have been rented or borrowed.”
“Hmm,” Indrajit said. “The college kid has been here for 5 weeks, you say? When was the first time the victim got the threatening email?”
“Around 5 weeks back, sir,” Rajat replied.
“Looks like we have found our man,” Indrajit said. “Let’s not waste any more time. The victim has been through enough trauma already. I will get us search warrants and we will pay both the suspects a ‘surprise visit’ as soon as possible.”
When Rajat left the room, Indrajit was already calling the authorities up for permissions.
Chapter Nine
Just some drunk men
Karan Mondal was a final year engineering undergraduate from Durgapur doing his internship at a company in Gurgaon. He had rented an apartment for two months in Sector 29. As was his habit, he sat down on his computer for his usual evening schedule while sipping coffee from a large mug. His room was dimly lit with wires strewn all over the floor. His laptop cover had at least ten different stickers of famous electronics brands. His place smelled of cigarettes. There were several crumpled packets of previous food delivery orders thrown carelessly around the floor.
Karan slouched shirtless in his chair and opened an incognito window on his browser. He entered his search item when there were a series of sharp raps on his door.
Startled, Karan sat up.
He had no friends in the city and the only person who ever knocked on his door was his maid who came to clean up in the weekends. Today, the knocks were incessant, and he could hear a rough male voice from outside saying, “Open up.”
Not sure of what to expect, Karan picked up a shirt from the messy dump of clothes on his bed and opened the door. To his shock, there were two Police officers standing outside. Without warning, the taller of the two grabbed his collar and shouted in his face, “You are Karan, aren’t you? We know what you have been up to since the past five weeks. Rajat, confiscate his computer and every electronic gadget you find. And you, Mr Karan, you are coming with us.”
***
29-year-old Amish Grover walked inside his apartment and turned on the lights. He kept his car keys and wallet on a small table by the door. He sat on the couch in his living room and massaged the back of his neck. With a new merger coming up, the last few days had been hectic at the office. Today, he had had long meetings with some clients that had taken up all evening. With a sigh, he took out his phone and was about to place an order for dinner when his doorbell rang.
Amish wasn’t expecting any guests. He stood up wearily and stretched his hands. Then, he walked to the door and looked through the peephole. An irrational fear gripped his chest when he saw two uniformed police officers standing outside. One of them was tall and muscul
ar, a neatly trimmed moustache sitting on his otherwise clean-shaven face. The shorter one had a bushy moustache and the air of polished obeisance about him. The muscled officer rang the doorbell once more and Amish opened the door.
“Inspector Indrajit Bhowmick of Delhi Police Cyber Crime Cell,” the officer said flashing an ID. “We have a search warrant for you, Mr Grover. It’s a routine investigation, but you must come with us. Rajat, check all the electronics and bring them to the station.”
***
“Are you going to confess, you piece of shit?”
“Yes sir, I confess. I confess,” Karan, the college student, sobbed. The top two buttons of his shirt had flung open, revealing matted chest hair drenched in sweat. “Please don’t hit me, sir, I am sorry.”
“It’s people like you who make me lose faith in humanity,” Indrajit spat. He grabbed Karan by the collar and pulled his face closer. “Tell me, how many other women have you done it with?”
There was a look of confusion on his childish features. “How many other – sir, what do you mean?”
“How many other women have you blackmailed, tell me? I have neither the mood nor the patience to deal with your pathetic pretences,” the inspector spat.
“Sir, I am not pretending. I honestly have no clue what you are talking about. I have never blackmailed any man or woman in my life,” he cried.
Indrajit straightened, loosening his grip on Karan’s collar. “What did you confess to just now, then?”
“F-For illegally downloading porn using torrents?” Karan replied, his face a mask of shame and confusion.
“Do you know who Tashi Chotten is?” Indrajit asked, his tone flat.
“Tashi what? This is the first time in my life I heard that weird name. I swear on my mother, sir.”
***
“But he had confessed to being guilty, hadn’t he, sir?” Rajat asked.
“Apparently, the kid thought we arrested him for illegally downloading porn using Tor,” Indrajit said, frowning.
The two of them were standing outside the interrogation room. A shivering, weeping Karan was seated inside, the glass of water on his table untouched.
What Did Tashi Do Page 6