The Case Of Black Magic Murders In Mumbai

by Shilpa Jain

  The atmosphere outside is calm now. The whooshing of wind and rustling of leaves engulf the silence of the eerie night, until the ringing of temple bell begins again.

  Rushing to her Sumo, Tanvi drives back home. On her way back, she gets a spooky feeling that someone is in the backseat. She keeps checking her rear-view mirror to rule out her fear. It is almost midnight.

  What’s wrong with me? There is no such thing as black magic. I will have to go to the crime sites and look for clues to find a pattern to prevent more deaths.

  She picks up her cell phone to check for network. The phone has been dead for a while now. After charging it for a few minutes, she switches it on. Notifications of numerous messages from Abram flash on the display screen. Before she can read them, her phone begins to ring.

  Abram bombards, “Where have you been? I was worried. I even came to your apartment to check, but the security guard told me that you never came back since morning. The least you could do…”

  “Whoa… whoa Abram! Hold on! Take a breath. I am fine. I had to go out. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry. I am hurt and tired. I just want to pop my painkiller and go to bed.”

  “You are hurt?” he sounds alarmed.

  She immediately regrets telling him. “It’s nothing. I just fell down. I’ll be fine by morning.”

  She hears a click and he is off the line.

  Angry, probably. Never mind, I’ll take care of him tomorrow.

  After reaching home, she freshens up and changes into her nightwear. When she is about to take her medicine, the doorbell rings. Anticipating that it is Abram, she opens the door and he stands in the doorway angrily staring at her.

  She lets him in. Before closing the door, she notices that the black cloth is stuck back into the fire exit door. She gets a creepy feeling and is glad that Abram is with her.

  “Eat this,” he thrusts a packet of sandwich in her hand.

  “Thanks. I was actually hungry. Now, I don’t have to eat medicines to kill my hunger.”

  “Very funny,” he rolls his eyes and inspects the cut on her forehead.

  “We are going back to our old days.”

  “Are we?”

  “You have become disturbingly overprotective again, and I am beginning to feel guilty.”

  “I care about you. I would do the same for anyone I care.” He applies an ice pack to her forehead.

  She winces. “I know you wouldn’t do that for anyone else. But in my case, you want to control me… own me.”

  Abram sighs and shakes his head. “Just eat and go to sleep. You can say whatever you want to drive me away, but I am staying back tonight.”

  “Shouldn’t you be taking my permission?”

  “I just did.”

  Tanvi sniggers in spite of the pain. She sleeps peacefully at night knowing that Abram is by her side. She is too exhausted to think about the black cloth sticking out of her fire exit door.

  Next morning, she is up early. Abram is still sleeping by her side. She kisses his forehead.

  “Go back to sleep lady. You need to rest.”

  “And you need to get up and go to work.”

  “I called in sick. I am going to see that you rest today.”

  “You already called up your office? I thought you just woke up.”

  “Just woke up? I couldn’t sleep all night trying to keep my hands off you.”

  “You are embarrassing me now.”

  “Does that mean I have your permission?”

  “No, you don’t,” she blushes.

  “Hmm… my fantasy is shattered. I’ll make some breakfast.”

  “Abram, you could find someone better than me… someone who would reciprocate. And I’d still be happy for you.”

  Abram sighs and says, “Yes ma’am, but the heart wants what it wants.”

  Tanvi subdues her urge to rush into his arms. She freshens up and starts surfing about mahavidyas on her laptop.

  “My lady, what part of ‘you need to rest’ do you not understand?”

  “A life is at stake, and if the aghori I met yesterday is right, many lives are at stake. We can’t afford to rest.”

  “You met an aghori yesterday?”

  “Yeah, he told me that the culprit we are dealing with is a tantric, not an aghori.”

  “Are they different? Whatever… I told you to stay away from these black magic guys. They are ruthless. They play on your mind.”

  “Maybe they do. That’s why I need your help to understand the pattern this killer tantric is following.”

  “You think I have a mind as dark as his?”

  “No! Of course not! But you do have a mind that is sharp enough to understand these dark minds.”

  “Is that a compliment?”

  “By all means.”

  Abram shoves a plate of omelette and a mug of coffee in Tanvi’s hands.

  “Ok, tell me everything from the beginning.”

  Tanvi conveys every detail of the case and her meeting with the aghori while eating her breakfast.

  “Inspector Yadav, did it occur to you why the aghori… I mean… the tantric was so bold in committing the crime?”

  “No, but I think he had accomplices.”

  “Of course he did! And we are dealing with a group of cold-blooded murderers in that case. They don’t care about the outcome. They have no fear and hence, they are very dangerous. Also, what were so many of them doing in the city that night and the next morning?”

  “I researched and found that the night when Pari was abducted was an auspicious day for tantrics to make their offerings to the goddesses of mahavidya to begin their quest for whatever they aspire.”

  “That doesn’t make sense.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Soniya was killed a week before that night.”

  “Yes, which means that she wasn’t a part of the offering.”

  “That means if your aghori’s prediction is correct, there are many more murders waiting to happen.”

  “You are getting my point now.”

  “We are going to pass on this info to the local police and help them handle the case.”

  “I thought you were getting my point.”

  “It’s too dangerous Tanvi. You won’t have any support from your department. You think both of us can handle this?”

  “I didn’t say we were only two of us.”

  Abram arches his brows from behind his spectacles. Tanvi’s doorbell rings; she opens the door.

  “Hey Makrand!”

  “Good morning ma’am! I spoke to my source at Sanjay Gandhi national park. A body of a young girl was found hanging by a tree that had a small shrine of a goddess under it.”

  “She is the second victim! Did they identify her?” asks Tanvi.

  “No ma’am, the girl has not been identified yet.”

  “Poor girl! The shrine belonged to which goddess?” asks Tanvi.

  “Does that matter ma’am?”

  “Yes, we have to find a pattern.”

  “I will have to ask my source.”

  Abram stares at the two of them, “Now this newbie has sources too?”

  “He is learning fast. Now, we are three of us against the tantric.”

  “A group of tantrics,” corrects Abram.

  “Ma’am, there is something else,” says Makrand looking very serious.

  “What is it? Bring it on.”

  “The girl was bled completely before being hanged. She looked very pale and yellow.”

  “Yellow! The colour of goddess Bagala! The first body was charred black, and the second was coloured yellow. We have a pattern here.”

  Tanvi feels a sharp pain in her head. She goes inside to get her painkillers.

  Abram moves close to Makrand and circles around him. “Are you trying to impress her? Who is your source?”

  “I can’t disclose that. And she is already impressed by me.”

  “I am watching you closely,” warns Abram, pointing the inde
x and middle fingers of his right hand to Makrand’s eyes and then to his own eyes.

  “I know that.”

  “Aren’t you too young to be hitting on her?”

  “Age is just a number,” replies Makrand, tongue in cheek.

  Tanvi hurries back, “Let’s not waste any more time. We need to get to the crime sites, the forest, the crematorium, and the tower of silence. We have to find our clues today. Makrand, you go and meet Soniya’s mother. Soniya could have been killed because she knew too much. Be discreet. I don’t want anyone to know you are working on this case.”

  “Yes ma’am. You can count on me.”

  “I know I can.”

  Makrand tilts his head and nods at Abram before going out.

  “Tanvi, are you sure you can trust him?” asks Abram after Makrand leaves.

  “Yes Abram, I know what I am doing.”

  Tanvi receives a phone call, “Hey Kabeer.”

  “Ma’am, Mac is dead!”

  “Good.”

  “You don’t sound surprised?”

  “I am not. Was the girl found?”

  “Yes, she is with an NGO now. Some lady in a burqa killed Mac.”

  “Is that so? I am sure the local police will handle the case well.” She disconnects the call.

  Abram has a serious note in his voice, “What is it?”

  “The burqa killer has re-emerged.”

  “Was she ever dormant? It’s just that this time someone witnessed her act. There have been many killings of bad people in the past with no clue of the killer. But the modus operandi was the same. They were stoned to death.”

  “Let’s not discuss her. She is doing a favour on the society by cleaning it up.”

  “You approve of her? What if she gets out of hand?”

  “She won’t. I know.”

  “You sound confident. I hope you are right. Coming back to our case, today, we are on a romantic outing to a forest, tower of silence, and a crematorium. I am very excited. Where do we begin?”

  “The colour of the body has a pattern. The first goddess of mahavidya is Kali, hence the charred black body. The second goddess is Bagala. She is yellow, hence the pale and yellow body.”

  “What about the next?”

  “The next goddess is Chinnamastika. She is dark and… decapitated.”

  Tanvi looks at Abram in horror.

  Abram comforts her, “This is the pattern of what he would do to the girls before the offering, not of where or who he would kill next.”

  “I know. That worries me. Let’s go to the forest first.”

  “Fine.”

  When they are leaving the apartment, she notices the black cloth stuck again in the fire exit door.

  Should I tell Abram about the lemon, the note, and this black cloth? No, that would make him more concerned about my safety. I have to find the truth about this. And I almost forgot about the aghori that Soma had seen from Pari’s balcony.

  Chapter 10

  On their way to the crematorium, Tanvi receives a call from DSP Yogesh Pai, “How’s your health Yadav?”

  “I am fine sir.”

  “So, are you good to join back?”

  “Umm… I was thinking I should rest a bit more.”

  “I hope you are resting. I know that Abram too is on leave. Incidentally, Makrand and Soma have also applied for leave.”

  “I am not aware of that sir.”

  “I hope you have nothing up your sleeve. Don’t do anything stupid. Do you understand?”

  “Yes sir.”

  Abram looks at her while driving, “Now what?”

  “He knows we are up to something.”

  “Should we confide in him?”

  “He follows the rules strictly. By the time the case is transferred back, there could be many more murders.”

  “So, how about confiding and still secretly pursuing the case while waiting for the transfer? We are doing that anyway, aren’t we?”

  “We could think about that, but police chief D’Souza and our boss are not in good terms. D’Souza will try every trick in the book to retain the case. After all, whoever solves it will win media accolades. Our investigation will come into media limelight and we won’t be able to pursue the case secretly.”

  “You have a point there.”

  Tanvi and Abram visit the crime site at Sanjay Gandhi national park. The forest officer does not dare to stop Tanvi this time.

  The site has been processed by the local police team. The shrine is just a triangular orange stone covered with a yellow cloth representing a goddess. They find some scattered vermillion and a few lemons. Tanvi carefully inspects the area.

  “I think this confirms the black magic angle. Let’s go to the crematorium where Pari was killed. I faintly remember hearing the tantrics chant some mantras after they attacked me. They were probably following a ritual before offering the girl,” concludes Tanvi.

  At the crematorium, the caretaker shows them the site.

  Tanvi questions him, “Didn’t you see any of the people who were here that night? Didn’t the girl scream when she was being set on fire?”

  “No ma’am. They were four of them and their faces were painted... like they were whitewashed. I was too scared on seeing them. They locked me in my cabin and one of them stood guarding it. I think the girl was drugged. One of them had carried her in a load on his shoulder. I heard them chant some mantras. I remember one of the mantra. It is chanted while making an offering to Mahakali.”

  “What mantra?”

  “Kring Kring Kring Hing Kring Dakshine Kalike Kring Kring Kring Hring Hring Hung Hung Swaha.”

  Tanvi looks around the place. “Is there a shrine of a goddess in this crematorium?”

  “Yes ma’am, right here in front of where the girl was burnt. She was made to sit here when the mantras were being chanted. They performed some rituals before they burnt her.”

  Tanvi imagines a helpless and drugged girl sitting naked before four monsters who were flinging vermillion on her while chanting mantras and circling around her. A funeral pyre burning beside her, hungry to consume her alive.

  Tanvi’s eyes are blazing with anger. “The bastards burnt her alive. And they bled and hanged the other girl. I am going to extract their balls before killing them.”

  Abram places his hand on her shoulder and presses it gently to signal that the caretaker is alarmed by her reaction.

  They go to the shrine of the goddess. The shrine is covered with a black cloth.

  Tanvi looks at Abram, “That’s a pattern too.”

  “But a post-murder one. We need a pattern to prevent killings.”

  Tanvi sighs and removes a bottle of painkiller from her pocket. Abram snatches the bottle from her.

  “You have already taken your dose. You are getting addicted. I will keep this with me from now on and taper your dosage.”

  “All the killings are happening at shrines of goddesses. That is the only lead we have.”

  “Yeah, at shrines that are deserted.”

  Tanvi’s phone rings, “Makrand?”

  “No ma’am, Soma here.”

  “Why are you calling from Makrand’s phone?”

  “We are planning on working together with you. He said his phone is personal and mine is office registered. So, it is safer to make calls from this one.”

  “Why did you take leave?”

  “To work unofficially with you. I am so excited. Finally, I will be doing something illegal.”

  “Hold your horses. We are not doing anything illegal. Listen to my plan…”

  “Great ma’am. It will be done tonight.”

  Abram looks at her, “Now you have managed to get a whole team working for you, unofficially.”

  “Yup, I do have a bunch of loyal fools. Let’s take a lunch break.”

  During lunch, Tanvi receives another call from Makrand.

  Abram looks irritated, “The boy calls you up too often.’

  “Relax! It’s work related
.”

  Abram nods his head in disapproval.

  Tanvi takes Makrand’s call, “Yes, what is it?”

  “It’s me, Rane.”

  “You too are on leave?”

  “Yes ma’am,” he chuckles.

  “DSP sir will get suspicious.”

  “No ma’am, I am on medical leave. I have a deep gush on my leg, and I got it on duty.”

  “And who gave you the gush? Makrand?”

  Rane was silent.

  Tanvi sighs, “Thought so. Why did you call?”

  “Ma’am, I have received report of another abduction and murder of a young girl. She lived in a village close to Sanjay Gandhi national park and was… er…”

  “Decapitated?”

  “How did you know ma’am?”

  “Never mind that. Was there a shrine of a goddess where the murder was committed?”

  “Yes ma’am. They found three skull cups with the girl’s blood in them. The murderers may have consumed the blood. I have sent you a pic of the crime scene.”

  On her cell phone, she receives a picture of a young dark-complexioned girl’s decapitated body. Tanvi clenches her fist and grinds her teeth to repress her anger and helplessness.

  “Let’s meet up at my residence late tonight to chart out our plan.”

  “Ok ma’am. What about Soma’s plan for tonight?”

  “Tell her to put that on hold for now. This is more urgent.”

  “Right ma’am.”

  Abram asks Tanvi, “Do you want to visit the crime site?”

  “No, we have to act fast. Let’s go home and figure out if the tantric is killing at deserted shrines on his route to Tungareshwar forest.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  At home, Tanvi and Abram try to figure out the route followed by the tantrics. They take printouts of maps of all forests in Maharashtra and study them.

  “This will work if we assume that the murders will remain confined to Maharashtra,” remarks Tanvi.

  “They have never used a vehicle. So, how far can they get on foot with kidnapped and drugged girls on their shoulders?” interprets Abram.

  “The problem is that only big temples are landmarked in these maps. Small shrines are not marked. We will have to find out from the forest department about them. Do you know anyone?”

  “Of course! I know someone at all places.”

  “Sorry, I asked. Use your source to find out.”