The Mystery of the Lingeshwar Temple and the Lurking Shadows

by Laxmi Natraj

  The Major got up and welcomed them. He looked every inch a military man. Though he had taken voluntary retirement, he looked to be just in his early forties. As he stood up, he was a good two inches taller than Nakul (whose height was six feet one). Supplementing his good height Major had a well-built body with very broad shoulders and over all had a sturdy, rugged appearance. His upper arm muscles were seen bulging under the well-fitting trim deep blue shirt. Only the thick cluster of grey hair, balding gracefully on both the sides of his temple could give away his real age. Nakul half wondered that the Major could have purposely bleached his hair grey, to give him that senior aged person look.

  After a firm handshake, they all sat down. Then the Major spoke, “Actually I don’t accept any jobs from outside. Though I am out of Army, I still do a lot of decoding of surveillance messages for the Army officers and believe me there is a huge amount of data, as a large volume of terrorists are continuously messaging around the world. But the ACP is my special friend. Secondly, he also briefed me about you two boys and how you two are a rare pair of dedicated sharp workers. I like young boys who work very hard for our country. Hence, I decided to help. Give me that slip of paper with the coded message.”

  Nakul took out the ripped and crushed piece of the paper. Major carefully spread it on his table and studied it intensely. Seconds ticked on. No one talked. Finally, the Major looked up and said, “Unfortunately, this is a very small piece of information. Hence finding the coding pattern is very difficult. In such cases, we use many parameters, with alternative variables and permutations and combinations and then derive a number of possible messages. Finally, only at the end of our analysis, we will be able to crack the code. The only problem is that this will take quite some days to crack.”

  Nakul said, “Sir, You can take all the time needed. Decoding the original message, which this man was trying to communicate, is very important for us in solving our case.” Then he briefly reported about the murder of John, the purchase of dry fruits in bulk etc.

  The Major listened attentively and then shaking his head said, “This definitely points to a connection, with the Pakistan sponsored ISI terrorists. I wonder why the anti- terrorist department brushed it off so easily. But honestly speaking this is really, an excellent job on your part to have gathered this piece of information even after someone had cleared off all evidence. OK, then boys. Shall we meet after two days? I will give you a call when the job is over.”

  Nakul was now really feeling light-hearted that someone was finally, believing in him. They got up, thanked him and started walking away. When they were just halfway through the door, the Major called out, “One minute Nakul, please come back.”

  Nakul and Utkarsh stopped in their tracks and looked at each other. The Major continued, “You two, please come back here. I have got an idea.”

  Excited with the Major’s interest in their case both of them went back and sat down. The Major looked at them for two or three minutes still thinking seriously. Then he spoke, “Now, from the purchase of dry fruits, and then the information about John’s past in the US and finally this coded message, we are nearly sure that there are some possible terrorists hiding in the village. You too had felt their presence on many occasions. But you were not able to catch them only because someone of their group was alerting them in advance about your movement all the time. They possibly got their warning quite in advance, where ever you were going, even before you reached that point. Am I right?”

  Nakul was surprised that Major could exactly pin-point the fact. He said, “Yes sir, you are absolutely right. I always felt that they were getting some pre-information and warning every time before I reached them.”

  Major smiled and said, “They were able to warn these persons because they knew that you were coming down hunting for them. Suppose they are caught unaware? Suppose they don’t know that you are ready to pounce on them and attack?”

  Nakul looked totally blank and said, “But how is it possible Sir?”

  Major said, “Simple. You don’t go there as the Inspector Nakul. Visit getting disguised as some Government Officers of authority. So you will have the power to search, but they won’t even have the time to hide or they may not bother hide from any Government official.”

  Nakul and Utkarsh looked at each other and said, “Yes, Sir! An excellent idea! But we go back as what person?”

  Major said, “You said that the American had built a school and hospital. I am sure he would have built some secret holes for hiding these terrorists in those buildings. His very motive of building these places could have been only that. But as Inspector Nakul you cannot barge inside the school and search. Am I right?”

  Nakul and Utkarsh listened with rapt attention.

  The Major continued, “Instead, now you take some help from the ACP for the support of Government machinery and make an unexpected sudden attack on these buildings as a Demolishing Squad. You could very well say that the construction itself is illegal and was done without proper sanction! Of course the village people would come rushing in with all papers and documents as proof. Still you can make some excuse about the strength of the building etc. and this way you can check the building for some secret hidden rooms etc. If there are secret rooms then it will be the sure proof that there are terrorists hiding in the village.”

  Nakul and Utkarsh got up almost smiling. They saluted the major and said, “Yes Sir, we will do that. Thank you so much for this wonderful help.”

  The Major continued, “You said the villagers are basically farmers. Again there is a possibility that the terrorists might be hiding inside the village faking as farm workers. Hence you can go another time as someone from the Agricultural Department and visit each and every farm. You may be able to spot the outsider promptly. You know the Pakistan terrorists have a different face structure something like the Afghanistan people or the Kashmiri terrorists. They have a distinctly different look from the Indian village farmers. You can spot this difference easily, even if they have disguised themselves intelligently.”

  Nakul and Utkarsh were thrilled beyond words. They thanked the Major profusely and left the office. Both of them reported back to the ACP’s office. He was equally thrilled with the Major’s suggestion. Together, they discussed the two different trips they would be making in two totally different disguises to flush out the terrorists from their holes.

  The ACP said, “Nakul, for all this work you need completely professional makeup and you have to approach a professional makeup artist. Your disguise has to be flawless and perfect beyond anyone’s suspicion. As and when you are ready with all this, I will provide you with a good backing support from our police people. I can give you Agricultural experts and a Demolishing Squad of Government along with a bulldozer and real officials with the needed authentic papers, documents and everything. You let me know which disguise you are going to be in and accordingly, I will give you the needed backup.”

  Nakul and Utkarsh were almost dancing in their happiness for the support they were getting from the ACP. They thanked the ACP and saluting their boss came out.

  Chapter 31

  The Preparation.

  When both of them came back to the office Nakul said, “Utkarsh, let us finish our lunch fast. We have to go out somewhere. After lunch, change into your civil clothes for going out.” Utkarsh nodded.

  Nakul wanted to avoid his police bike. He had already telephoned one of his friends to bring a bike which was a bit old looking just for this special work. With Utkarsh on the pillion, Nakul started the bike. They drove on for quite some distance. They finally entered the narrow lanes outside the Nasik Doordarshan studios.

  The narrow lanes were crowded and many platform style shops lined the gulley. There were a large number of dresses hanging on hangers as a display and they were like the one which people wear on stage for enacting in dramas. There were king’s dresses, head gears, swords, police uniforms, guns and many such odd things. Utkarsh understood that they were the sh
ops which regularly supply costumes for TV or drama shows.

  Nakul stopped in front of a small two storied house and knocked. A young man with long unruly hair and absolutely crumpled shirt opened the door. Seeing Nakul he smiled broadly and gave him a big hug. As they entered he closed the door immediately behind them. Utkarsh was still staring like a boy lost in a big circus ground. As he blinked, Nakul turned to him and said, “Utkarsh, meet Makarant. My second-standard classmate.” As Utkarsh kept blinking unable to understand the statement of his boss, Makarant walked them through two rooms full of piled dresses where a number of men were working busy. Finally, they reached a small cubicle of an office.

  He pulled two chairs, pushed out dozens of things piled on them and offered them to sit. They sat down and Utkarsh was still lost. What has a 2nd standard class mate to do with an Inspector?

  As Utkarsh was still looking blank, Nakul laughed and said, “Because I said that he is my 2nd standard classmate, don’t think he studied only up to 2nd. We studied together from 2nd onwards together till we finished our school. Then my father got a transfer and I came to stay near your house in Bangalore. He was so lucky that he went to Pune Film institute to study, later went abroad and specialized in makeup art and is now one of the top makeup artists of Bollywood.”

  For the first time Makarant spoke, “Hi Nakul, why are you giving some big lecture and frightening that young kid! Look here Utkarsh, this fellow is just kidding. I was a useless fellow who could not get good marks and a good job in police to drive everyone mad like Nakul. So I picked up a job to apply makeup on the faces of everyone and make them jokers.” He laughed heartily and it was so infectious that everyone joined in the laughter. A man brought tea in three cups and kept it on the table and left.

  Makarant said, “Utkarsh have some tea. It is going to be a long session. So be prepared to sit for hours.” Turning to Nakul he started, “Look here man, ‘I want a disguise’ is not a statement enough for me. Disguise is a total art of conversion of a personality from one person to other. It means you have to be changed in such a manner that no one will be able to recognize you as Nakul. Is that right? For that matter I need a complete picture, like what you want to look like, why and for how long you want the makeup to stay on?”

  Utkarsh was totally bowled over now. He did not exactly think that Nakul was going to come to a movie makeup artist for a disguise. He thought as generally seen in movies, they would wear some false beard and moustache and that was all that was needed. But the way these two were planning was as if Nakul was actually going to act in a movie. Poor Utkarsh, he hardly anticipated the things which both of them were going to face. As he was deep in his thoughts, Nakul had already explained the needed characters they were going to play.

  Makarant thought for a few seconds and then said, “In short, Nakul, you are going to play two characters which are absolutely looking different from the Inspector Nakul, and also both characters should not have any resemblances with each other. Because no person in the village should make out that those two men were only one person and that both men were just you.”

  Nakul nodded. Makarant said, “In the first character when you are going to knock off the school building, from what I gathered, you had to be present in the village only from morning to evening. That is to say in short that it is only one day show, no staying there overnight. Am I right?”

  Nakul nodded and said, “Yes I guess so. I will be able to locate what I want in one day. And then we will return back home.”

  Makarant said, “Ok, in the second visit, you are going to be in the village, as some Agricultural Officers for three days at least. So any temporary disguise shall not suffice. I have to think of a strong permanent stay on makeup.”

  Nakul said, “Hey Makarant, you are making it a big issue. Put on some simple makeup and be done with it.”

  Makarant said, “Your boss has said that you should go to some ‘Professional makeup’ Do you understand why did he say that? If you go as a police guy, they will keep some distance from you. But when you are in a disguise and if they suspect that you had come for some snooping around they will not hesitate even one second to knock you off. Remember they are terrorists out there and not ordinary criminals!”

  Nakul looked back at Utkarsh and raised both his hands and made a sorry face and said, “Utkarsh we both are going to be the Guinea pigs for this man’s experiment.” Then with a sigh, he turned to Makarant said, “OK, You are the boss here. Do whatever you think is right.”

  Makarant said, “For tomorrow’s show I will make you a Punjabi Singh. I can paste a good beard and moustache with nice gum which will last until evening. Utkarsh is too thin. So I will give him minimum make up with a thin fashionable half beard and moustache. Both of you will wear golden rimmed spectacles with blue or brown tint. That way people cannot see your eyes. You will wear show piece wrist watches, some rings in the fingers, an iron Kada in your right hand. Besides this, you will wear costly full suits, tie and costly shoes and look every inch a Government officer. Learn to talk with a deep voice. We have some tablets which when taken the voice will be turned into hoarse voice. We use it for dubbing voice sometimes. Is that OK?”

  Nakul nodded his head. Both of them were given one more round of tea. Makarant took their snaps on his cell phone and loaded it into his laptop. He started working feverishly trying different makeup and styles on their image. After twenty minutes he showed them the pictures. Actually, Utkarsh could not make out that it was their photo.

  It was nearing 5 p.m. Makarant told them to go back to their room and come back next day at 4 a.m. sharp for the makeup. They thanked Makarant and taking a copy of their snaps on their cell phone they came out. Utkarsh volunteered to drive and for a change, Nakul got on the pillion. Both wore their helmets like good officers and moved toward Nakul’s building.

  Chapter 32

  The Bulldozers

  18th May 3:30 a.m.

  Utkarsh rang the bell of Nakul’s room. Nakul was just finishing wearing his shoes. Together they walked down the stairs and reached the compound. Nakul was about to start the bike when ACP called him.

  He said, “Everything is well arranged and ready boys. The actual bulldozer squad with the real Government Officers and the real looking relevant fabricated papers everything is ready. They will be waiting for you in front of the ‘The Green Henna Hotel’ which is located at the beginning of the highway from 08:30 a.m. onwards. You can meet them there, and proceed. This way no one will be suspecting anything. All the best.” The line went dead.

  Nakul and Utkarsh went to Makarant’s room. They underwent two solid hours of gruelling make up. Finishing that, they were also given few important acting tips. Nakul was asked to swallow some tablets right at the beginning before he started his makeup and by the time their makeup was finished his voice was so hoarse that even Utkarsh could not make out that it was Nakul’s voice. The makeup had turned both of them totally different.

  Nakul was now a hundred per cent Sardarji Sukvir Singh, and Utkarsh was Ramkumar Sharma. All the required accessories from the costly watch, fancy rings, gold rimmed spectacles and full suits and shirts were provided by Makarant. Ditching their friend’s old bike at Makarant’s place, they hired a taxi and reached Green Henna Hotel. The Government’s team of Officers was waiting for them there. They got into the official Government car and started moving towards the Lingeshwar village for their new adventure in a new avatar.

  By 10:30 a.m. they had reached the Lingeshwar village. As the car and bulldozer reached the school, within seconds a large crowd of villagers gathered around them. Sardarji and his assistant got out of the car and talked to the crowd in general.

  Sukvir spoke in his gruff, booming voice with authority, “I am Sukvir Singh and I am a Government officer in charge of the demolition of encroachments or illegal constructions. We have got orders from our Nasik Head office that this School is an illegal construction, done without proper Government permissions and it is to be de
molished immediately.”

  The villagers panicked and there was total commotion as everyone started talking something at once. Some villagers screamed, “No! No Sir, this is our legal school building. Please wait Sir, we will call our Sarpanch.” Someone ran and brought out two chairs for the officers. The bulldozer moved menacingly a little more nearer the school building now. Sukvir Singh and his assistant Ramkumar Sharma sat with an air of indifference and looked around.

  Within seconds Purohitji, Acharyaji, Shiva and Netra rushed to the spot. Acharyaji stepped forward and very politely said, “Sir, this school building has been here for the past ten years. We had only added extra classes that too, only after getting the proper permission from the Government Sir. Nothing was done illegally.”

  The Sardarji laughed a very hoarse laughter as if he heard the biggest joke of the world. He said, “My name is Sukvir Singh and this is my assistant Ramkumar Sharma. Both of us are in charge of the demolition of illegal structures. And believe me, Sir, all the hundreds of the cases where we had gone for demolition so for, people always said the same story. Is it not Sharma?’

  He guffawed again and added, “Sharmaji show them the Government Order”.

  Sharmaji obediently opened a folder and showed it to the Acharyaji. It was the Nasik Zillah-Parishad order, which stated that the building was illegal and that the school building is to be demolished with immediate effect.

  Shiva now came forwards and said, “Sir, we have all the legal papers in order. This school was only renovated and new floors were constructed with the full permission of the Government department. I am just getting you the document papers”. Sukvir looked at him with a bit of contempt and sarcasm and asked, “Who are you, man? Why are you talking in between when the Sarpanch is here? How are you connected with this building?”