by Ruby Gupta
A sharp pain rose up on one side of his head.
He knew the pain would not let up till he got a firm grip on the case.
Robot-like, assisted by his team, Bhogle went through all the motions of the panchnama, getting the place dusted for fingerprints, the search for clues, getting photographs from all angles, et al.
All the while, his brain tried to grapple with the conundrum that this case had turned into.
This had become really bizarre.
‘I came as soon as I got to know,’ Professor Shantanu Bose entered the room.
Bhogle nodded.
As the professor took in the scene, he felt faint with shock.
He breathed deeply and took a grip on himself.
This was brutal; the work of some maniac, some sadist, some really cruel person.
Who could do this kind of thing to another human being, another living soul?
It was inconceivable that such an act could be committed.
Was it done in cold blood or in the heat of the moment?
Such passion was mostly the result of some immediate provocation, the thought came to him.
Who could have done it?
Who hated Chandra Prakash so much and why?
And was it the same person who had it in for Rajvir and Natalie?
After a long silence, Bhogle said, ‘It was someone known to Chandra Prakash, since there is no forced entry.’
The professor nodded.
‘And it seems that the killer took away the murder weapon, since we have not been able to find anything that could have been used to commit the crime anywhere in the house. Most probably, it was some kind of large knife – like a butcher’s knife. But just to be sure, we will take all the knives from the kitchen and have Forensics examine them for traces of blood.’ Bhogle sounded weary.
‘That would be the best thing to do.’ The professor paused. ‘And maybe you should ask Jyothika about anyone who had any enmity with her son,’ he continued. ‘That would be the way forward to begin with.’
‘Yes, I will, as soon as she recovers,’ Bhogle said.
‘Yes. This must be a great shock to her. He was the reason for her existence, he was her very life. This is terrible, really terrible. Very sad,’ the professor concurred.
‘Could you find any clues?’ Shantanu continued.
‘No, not really. Nothing seems out of place.’
‘It must have happened in the night. Or early in the morning, looking by the way the blood is congealed.’ The professor seemed to be talking to himself. ‘The killer obviously knew that Chandra Prakash was alone.’
‘Yes, either he knew the deceased well, or was someone who would be easily let inside the flat at a late hour,’ Bhogle said.
‘Do you think the post-mortem would reveal some interesting clue?’
‘Perhaps; but it is unlikely. All it could do is pinpoint the time of death and we would have a narrow window to work upon. So, our suspect would have to prove his or her alibi for that narrow time-period.’ Inspector Bhogle spoke, looking despondent.
Outside the Vile Parle complex, television journalist Vimal was ready with his crew, busily filming everything happening. As usual, he had the first information that something had happened. No one knew of his sources, but his bosses were very happy with the way he was always able to get them breaking news and maximum TRPs. Given that it was Jyothika’s home, as usual their channel began showing clips of her films. Everything related to her was quickly put into some kind of programme. Details about Chandra Prakash’s debut film being made were also touched upon.
Then there was an entire programme devoted to the relationship between Jyothika and Rajvir. This was built up in great detail, right from their first film as lead pair and their numerous hits thereafter. Their secret marriage and the birth of their son Chandra Prakash and the fact that Rajvir had been producing his second son’s film was discussed at length.
Speculation was rife about there being some link to the recent murders of Rajvir and Natalie. Since there was no news of what had actually happened, the channel could only allude to the fact that there was something serious in the offing, particularly since the police were at Jyothika’s home.
Soon other channels caught on and thereafter every channel began airing programmes around ‘The Family’ and ‘The Other Family’ as Jyothika and Chandra Prakash began to be termed.
Impromptu interviews were taken of industry people. Anything and everything that was even remotely connected with Rajvir, Natalie, Jyothika and Chandra Prakash was commented upon.
An entire segment was built around the way in which the police investigation was going. A lot of criticism was directed at the Mumbai police for being no nearer to solving the murders. Soon this was linked to the increasing number of murders and crime in Mumbai and the entire country. Much was made of police apathy and government inaction. The channels were adept at building various interlinking programmes and they did so with alacrity.
The audience was happy to find something new related to their favourite topic – movie stars, as also criticism of the existing state of affairs.
‘Madam, I’m sorry for your loss, but I must ask you a few questions,’ Bhogle spoke softly.
‘Yes,’ Jyothika looked up through swollen, red eyes, which seemed to have shrunk to half their normal size.
‘Do you have any idea who would, could have done this?’
‘No,’ she paused, as she struggled to control her face from crumbling. ‘My Chandra is, was, such a sweet boy. Everybody loved him. No one would…’ she choked.
Professor Shantanu reached out and held her hand. This was really too distressing.
‘I’m sorry. But can you think of anyone, someone?’ the inspector spoke apologetically.
‘First I lost my Rajvir and now my Chandra … what have I to live for now? Why wasn’t I killed instead of my baby?’ Jyothika continued in her own vein.
Bhogle looked at the professor helplessly.
‘Madam, you must try to get control over yourself. If you can recall anything, it will help us catch the culprit and avenge the death of your son,’ Shantanu spoke softly.
This seemed to get through to Jyothika. She wiped her tears and sat up straight. ‘I don’t know; what am I supposed to recall?’ she asked after a while.
‘When you saw Chandra Prakash last, did he seem disturbed, worried, anxious, scared?’ Bhogle asked.
‘No, I saw him last at dinner on Friday night,’ her voice broke. Taking a deep breath, she continued, ‘He seemed normal. We talked about his day’s shoot and the plan for the next week. There was nothing, absolutely nothing different.’
‘But after his heroine Natalie died, how was he still shooting? Wasn’t the movie shelved, or put on hold, or something?’ Professor Shantanu asked.
‘No – the producers asked the writers to modify the story in such a way that the character played by Natalie would die. Then there would be another heroine from that point onwards. There was too much money at stake, you see. And the producers could not afford to shelve the project,’ Jyothika explained.
People die, but the world goes on unaffected, the professor thought, feeling poignant.
‘Who do you think would want Chandra Prakash dead?’ the inspector asked.
‘Pallavi!’ Jyothika spoke bitterly.
Professor Shantanu looked at her in dismay, not believing that she had made such a direct accusation.
‘Really? On what basis can you say this?’ Bhogle asked.
‘She always hated me and hated my son. And since Rajvir began focusing on Chandra’s career, I think she became crazy. So, she only must have done it,’ Jyothika spoke fervently.
‘I see. Would you have any kind of proof?’ the inspector asked hesitatingly, knowing full well that this was not possible.
‘No,’ she said.
‘Apart from Pallavi, can you think of anyone else? Any of his friends? Or someone who had some professional grouse against him or any such thi
ng?’ Professor Shantanu asked.
‘No, all of Chandra’s friends loved him. He was such a nice, likeable boy you see…’ she choked again. ‘It can only be Amar if not Pallavi,’ she continued.
‘Why Amar?’ Bhogle asked.
‘Amar was always jealous of Chandra.’
‘Why?’
‘Chandra was everything that Amar is not. And likely to be a success and to carry forth the Rajvir Kapoor legacy. This must have been intolerable for Amar. And so, he could have – must have – killed him,’ she spoke convincingly.
She could be right, Shantanu thought to himself.
‘All right, Madam, if you think of anything at all – howsoever insignificant it maybe – call me right away,’ Bhogle said.
Sitting alone in the garden, on the marble bench beneath the canopy of the fragrant pink Madhumalati, Professor Shantanu was deep in thought.
For days, he had been trying to piece together the parts of the puzzle, but had not made much headway.
Perhaps, one reason was that he was never alone, and so could never have any space to himself, which was essential for him in order to concentrate.
Thankfully, today, he had managed to steal some time for himself.
It was Sunday, and he did not have to go to IIT. Everyone was still asleep, or lazing, since it was barely 5 am – an unearthly hour by Xanadu’s standards.
He went over the facts.
Rajvir had been shot by his own gun, which was kept in the drawer in his study and was easily accessible to almost anyone.
But only a few people knew about it.
The drawer in which the gun was kept was always locked. But the key to the drawer was in the adjacent drawer.
This was feeble protection for the gun.
But there it was; these people had never really expected the gun to be used – ever, period.
Rajvir had bought the gun on a whim. And soon forgotten about it.
That it remained ready and loaded in the drawer, was known to the killer and he used it to his advantage. This meant that the killer was close to the family – most probably a family member, or a close friend.
This was the only conclusion, since with the help of Bhogle, he had already ruled out all his earlier suspects. There was certainly no scorned woman, or a disgruntled producer, or financier or the mafia involved.
Particularly after Chandra Prakash’s murder it was clear that none of these people had any kind of angle to kill all three.
Till it was Rajvir and Natalie there had been a different angle. But with Chandra Prakash being killed, all his earlier theories had been overturned. His murder did not fit into any kind of sequence. Which outsider would want all three dead, and why? It had to be just the immediate family or someone very close to the family.
Maybe he should start from the beginning. Look at Rajvir’s murder as a standalone case and build from there. Once the suspect and motive of the first murder was clear, maybe then the others would fall into place.
Now for the motive. So many of the family members had motive, that it was quite confusing, really.
It was more a question of determining who had the strongest motive.
Try as he might, Shantanu could not overlook the fact that Pallavi seemed to have the strongest motive. She had no love for the star. And then, for Rajvir to have changed his will, and given almost equal share to Jyothika and Chandra Prakash, was obviously more than she could bear. Probably, she had learnt about the change in the will and that was the trigger that led her to kill him. But then what had she hoped to gain by killing Rajvir? The will was iron-cast; it could not be changed. Killing Rajvir would not give her and Amar any kind of extra monetary benefit.
Then what? Was it hatred? Extreme and simmering hatred that led her to do it?
It was impossible to believe that the angelic, and unbelievably innocent-looking Pallavi, could commit such a terrible act.
Shantanu tried to be objective; but his heart somehow overpowered all his logic.
No, it was not possible for the magnificent Pallavi to do this. All evidence pointed to her, but it was impossible, really!
It could be equally possible for Amar to have killed his father. Years of living under Rajvir’s shadow had no doubt created a warped mentality within the son. It must have been tough on him, to grow up watching a father who mistreated his mother, was a compulsive womanizer and super successful too, in spite of it all. Then, to aspire to be an actor himself. That was a tough decision. He must have known that there would be constant comparisons. How could he have ever hoped to match up to his father?
But then Amar had no choice. He had no other career avenue open to him. He was actually good at nothing. His mother’s indulgent pampering had ensured that he never worked hard at anything, be it studies or anything. Being hopelessly devoted to his mother, Amar had no choice but to fulfil her dream of seeing him become a successful star. All this could have culminated in an extreme rage against the father – a rage that climaxed in murder, on that fateful night.
What about that shady Lucas? There was something not quite right about him. His obsession with Natalie… Here was one complicated bit, that did not fit into the picture. There was no doubt that Lucas hated Rajvir. He would gladly have killed Rajvir. But if Lucas had killed Rajvir, he would have hacked him into little pieces – made him suffer. The way he himself had probably suffered, upon learning that his girlfriend was not only in love with the star, but was carrying his child as well.
But Lucas was not at the party and that was his strongest alibi. Could it be that later, after the party, he may have sneaked into Rajvir’s study, hoodwinking the slack security that night?
After the party was over, the security people had become somewhat complacent, and perhaps more than a little drunk themselves. But why wasn’t his presence caught by any of the security cameras? Could it be because he entered via the hidden passageway in the study and returned the same way and left Xanadu through the garage? There could possibly be something here.
He had better have a word with Lucas. Perhaps he would let slip something…
These were the likely suspects of Rajvir’s murder. Where did the murders of Natalie and Chandra Prakash fit into all this?
These murders made no sense.
Who would want to murder those two?
And why?
Was it the same murderer who had murdered all three?
Or were there two different murderers, or three different murderers – one for each?
This was really confusing.
Distancing himself from it all, and keeping his heart out of the equation, Shantanu could not help feeling that he was perhaps out of his depth here.
‘Sir, Mridula did indeed travel from Delhi to Mumbai on the day of the murder and back early next morning,’ a sub-inspector said.
‘Yes, I knew it.’ Bhogle said triumphantly.
That Mridula lady had thought she was too clever. But then she did not know whom she was messing with, he thought.
Now he just had to fit her in with the other two murders and the case would be solved.
But first he had to also check out that writer Bipin Prasad. But it was unlikely for him to be involved. Even if he did kill Rajvir Kapoor, to ensure that his biography of the star was a best-seller, why would he kill the other two people? He would soon know. He had summoned the writer to the Police Station.
Half an hour later, a diffident-looking Bipin Prasad entered. He was hardly the type to kill. Much less kill three people, Bhogle thought as he looked at the diminutive man.
‘So, where were you on the night of Rajvir Kapoor’s murder?’ Bhogle decided to not waste any time. He had a lot of other things to take care of.
‘Wh…what? I’m sorry?’ the fellow looked flabbergasted.
‘You heard me. Go on, tell me,’ the inspector spoke sharply. ‘And don’t even try to lie. ‘We know you had wrangled an invite to Xanadu for the party and had gone there.’
‘Oh,’ Bipin Pras
ad looked astounded. ‘Yes, Sir. I had gone there. But only to see Rajvir up close and also how he lived. But I…I was so uncomfortable and out of place, that, that I soon left…’ his voice trailed away.
‘What time?’
‘Sir I arrived at Xanadu at 10.30 in the night and left at 11.30. I could not bear to stay any longer. I knew no one and felt out of place, felt like a fool, standing all alone,’ the man looked close to crying.
‘And after that? After that where were you?’
A dark colour slowly spread upwards from Bipin Prasad’s neck to his face, ‘I’m sorry, Sir. But I don’t usually do this. You see I felt so miserable, that I… I went to – to the Basanti Mohalla,’ he looked thoroughly embarrassed.
Bhogle knew that the Basanti Mohalla was a notorious red-light area. ‘You were there till what time?’ he began feeling sorry for the poor chap.
‘Er, till…till after five in the morning. You see, I…I know someone there…’
‘Can that someone vouch for your presence?’ Bhogle knew that the fellow was speaking the truth.
‘Yes, Sir. Most definitely, Sir. I swear I have nothing to do with Rajvir Kapoor’s murder,’ Bipin’s voice came out in a croak.
Inspector Bhogle let him go. Bipin Prasad was not only telling the truth, but had an alibi as well. And besides, there was no motive for him to commit the remaining two murders.
But that Mridula was quite another matter. He would most definitely have another word with that arrogant woman, Bhogle resolved.
Chapter 18
Later in the day Professor Shantanu sat with Pallavi at her favourite haunt, overlooking the garden sipping their evening tea. Of late, the two were thrown together quite often. Whether it was by accident or whether by design – the question was too disquieting for either of them to face up to. Nevertheless, Pallavi found herself seeking out the professor’s comforting company whenever she could. Shantanu for his part could not help being drawn more and more towards her.
‘I’m really shocked by Chandra Prakash’s death,’ she said. Her voice quivered somewhat.
Looking at her tremulous lips, there was no doubt in Shantanu’s mind that she was speaking the truth. He recalled Jyothika’s wild accusation. An unreasonable anger rose within him. Even as they spoke, Bhogle was perhaps following up on Jyothika’s lead and trying to get evidence against Pallavi and Amar.