by Laxmi Natraj
As Utkarsh stepped on the accelerator Nakul’s cell phone started ringing. Utkarsh stopped the car and pulled it to one side to get a better reception. Looking at the caller ID Nakul’s face brightened as he said, “It is a call from our Major. Maybe he has got some good news for us.”
He swiped the phone and said, “Good evening Major , any good news for us Sir?”
The Major chuckled and said, “You are a devil of a worker. With this much potential I think you should actually be working in the anti-terrorist squad more than the crime department. Anyway your suspicion about the code was very right. It is a code especially used by the Pakistan ISA. Since half the code was only available we decoded, using our own intelligence filling up the gaps. The code reads as follows:-
I WILL NOT ………. TO HELP YOU PEOPLE
HEREAFTER BECAUSE……………………….. I HAD BEEN HELPING FOR ………….. BUT NOW ……….HENCE, FIND ANOTHER PERSON ……
PLEASE RETURN ……. FAMILY WITH YOU ……
Even with the missing spaces, it is clear that John was helping the terrorists though he himself was not one of them. The word family indicates, that possibly his family was kidnapped by the terrorists and keeping them as a bait, he was forced to help them. He had come to the village only with that motive. But something had changed in five months periods, and he had decided not to help them further. Maybe that is the reason why the terrorists sent Julia to murder him so that he wouldn’t go to the police. Ok, now take the case ahead from this point Nakul, and all the best to you.”
The line went dead and Nakul continued to stare at the cell for a long time. Utkarsh said softly. “Sir” His senses came back to this world. He told Utkarsh everything about Major’s conversation and both of them sat in silence. Nakul said, “See Utkarsh, we did get an old photograph of John’s family. He told the villagers that his family was killed. All put together he was trying to help the terrorists only because he wanted his family back. But as he worked in the village it is possible that he started feeling genuine love for the villagers and started helping them. Then he would have also guessed that the terrorists would have killed his family already. The knowledge about his own ailment could have made him realize he had not much time to live. He could have then taken a decision to withdraw his support to those people. They therefore sent the lady and killed him.”
Utkarsh said, “Poor John. I really feel sorry for him. He was just a scapegoat.” They drove in silence and by midnight reached their home.
Chapter 53…..
The Accident
That night, Dande could hardly sleep. Only when those officers interrogated him yesterday, he realized that there was a valid point raised by them. When one set of goats went missing why and how did the earlier set of goats reach the house? All of them seemed healthier than before. What was the collar mark on their necks? If they were to be returned, why were they stolen in the first place? These questions were pestering him relentlessly. He decided to get up and take a walk outside in the cool air. He got up from his bed and walked to the door. Opening it, he stepped out. Walking aimlessly, he reached the end of the road leading to the temple hall.
At the same time, a man from the dark room came out of the trapdoor after having finished what seemed to be a meeting. Crawling through the bush, he reached the main road. When he was about to get up, he was shocked to see Dande standing there. He was sure that Dande had noticed some movement in the bush and was standing there watching the bush, wondering who was moving through the bush so late at night.
The man from the dark room found his heart thumping wildly as fear gripped him. Even if he decided to hide there for some time, his partners would start coming out one after another and this man would notice all of them and also discover their trap door.
Suspense-filled seconds ticked by, yet Dande did not move. His eyes were scanning the bushes intently. The man from the dark room made a quick decision. Their mission was too important to be lost for a small mistake. As Dande was looking on the other side, he reached his hand out and pulled his legs.
Dande fell down heavily on his face with a muffled cry. Before he could recover, the man jumped out of the bush and hit Dande on the back of his head with the butt of a gun. Dande became silent. The man now ran back to the trap door and told his companions what had happened.
There was an air of fear and then serious discussion. One of them said, “Let us just kill him”. But the head said, “No. One more murder means that police fellow would come again hampering our movements.” After some discussion the lady member gave some idea. Agreeing on that plan two of the members came out along with the lady member.
Reaching Dande they turned him on his side. The dark room member took out a knife and made a large slash on Dande’s forehead and blood started bubbling out of the large cut. The lady member took out her syringe and gave him an injection. She looked around and picked up a sharp stone from the road and smeared it with Dande’s blood. Then the two men lifted Dande and brought him to his doorstep while the lady kept a vigil for anyone coming out. They left him there face down, and just near his face left the blood stained stone. Then, all three of them vanished in a fraction of a second.
Early in the morning, the farmers going to the field spotted Dande in a bleeding condition. Soon, all the villagers collected there. Shiva and Netra, getting the information, came running to the spot. Netra examined Dande’s pulse and heart rate and said, “It looks like he came out in the night and tripped on something and fell down and hit his head.” Looking around, she spotted the blood smeared stone and said, “Here, he must have hit his head on this stone. But it is better that we take him to the hospital because we don’t know how much blood he has lost.”
Shiva brought out the car and Dande was moved to the hospital. Netra cleaned and stitched up the cut, gave him an injection, and connected an IV. She told Dande’s wife, “Don’t worry Chachi. The cut is long, but not deep. So he may come back to consciousness soon.”
By evening Dande opened his eyes, much to the happiness and relief of the group standing around. Acharyaji asked him, “Dande, why did you go out in the night without telling anyone? And if you had fallen down you could have screamed. Then your manservant or your wife would have come to help, is it not?”
Dande blinked as if he was hearing French or German. He said with as puzzled look, “The goats are not grazing grass? Why are you telling me this? I had employed you to look after them, is it not? Then why are you troubling me?’He babbled on meaninglessly. As everyone stood shocked, Netra gestured them not to react and she walked out. They all followed him.
She said, “I think because of the shock of the injury or due to blood loss Dande is temporarily confused. But all his vital systems are normal. So you can take him home. In two to three days, he will be normal.”
Dande came home. Except for his memory he seemed to be all right. His helper, the tall man, who hid himself when the Agricultural officers came, gave him medicine three times diligently but Dande’s memory remained in the same confused way.
Nakul and Utkarsh were getting ready to go to the ACP office when Shiva telephoned them. He sadly informed them about Dande’s accident. Nakul soothed him and hung up. He then looked at Utkarsh and said, “See only yesterday we had talked to this man and he was knocked off in the night. Probably, they tried to kill him but their attempt had remained half way. Now when Dande gets back his memory we might get some valuable information.” Closing the conversation both of them started moving towards the ACP’s office.
Chapter 54
Reporting to the ACP
25th May 10:00 a.m.
Around 10 a.m. both of them reported to the ACP. Earlier, Nakul had telephoned Acharyaji in the village and told them that he and Dr Anna had some urgent business in the town and hence will not be in the village for two or three days. Then taking an appointment from the ACP they reported there.
The ACP was, for one moment, taken aback at the clean shaved head of Nakul.
But he did not show any expression outwardly. Nakul reported about all the information he had collected. He mentioned about the four men wandering in the village in various disguises whom he could not catch, the event of the missing and reappearing goats, the strange collar marks in their neck and finally Major’s information on John’s coded message . The ACP said, “Nakul, for the first time, even I am totally confused by this case. If John was helping a terrorist and then if he is killed then why are those strange men still wandering in the forest and in the village? Terrorists don’t loiter. They just come in and attack. Surprise attack is the hallmark of the terrorists. If they wanted to blast the temple they would have done it a long time ago. Then, considering your angle, that they may be hunting for treasure, yes, there is a possibility. They would have sent John first to investigate and John, in the pretext of learning, moved closer to the Purohit, who would have taken him to the temple and showed him the hidden treasure or disclosed the secret place where the temple treasure is hidden. Thus though John is dead and gone these people are still hunting for the treasure, since they are still not aware of the exact spot of the treasure.”
Looking at Nakul’s face he noticed the redness of his nose and asked, “Why is your nose so red? Are you having a bad cold?”
Nakul smiled sheepishly and said, “What all sacrifices I had to do for this case Sir! First my precious hair has gone. Secondly I was forced to attach a plastic nose over mine with some chemical gum. That made my nose so itchy.”
The ACP smiled and said, “I am really so proud of you Nakul. The immense interest you show in solving this case is really praiseworthy. See a doctor and he might give you some anti-allergic tablets. So next time you won’t have so much reaction.”
The ACP listened attentively to Nakul’s next plan to go exploring in the forest. Putting their heads together, they made a systematic plan of every move. Finally, he told Nakul to go his room and take some rest while he would make arrangements for the special dress, night vision goggles and the hunter’s gun, which could be used to sedate the animal instead of killing it. Both the young officers saluted their boss and came out. They saw a doctor’s clinic close by and Nakul got himself some tablets. He went home and took the tablet. Both, the three days overworking and the sedative tablet lulled him into a deep sleep, and he slept on for hours peacefully.
Chapter 55
The Miracle Medicine
Purohitji was as usual, reading Geeta verses, when Netra came rushing in and said in an excited voice, “Purohitji , look at the morning news. It is so good.” She opened the third page and showed it to Purohitji. Without asking any further questions, he took the paper from her and started reading the newspaper. The heading in bold letters said:“ Miracle medicine invented by Dr Aravind Nair and the late Dr John Stoneman – an invention from the old Scriptures of the Lingeshwar Temple”
With his heart beating fast he ran his eyes fast through the materials. In short the news reported that Dr John Stoneman had done a lot of research in the temple scriptures with the help of Narayan Purohitji of Lingeshwar Temple. From this research he stumbled on the fact about a rare medicine, which can cure all type of cancers. After getting all the facts he forwarded the research to his friend Aravind Nair of University of Virginia,in the US, for further research and testing. Dr. Aravind Nair completed the research by trying out the new medicine on the samples of rats and rabbits and found that the medicine gave a positive 90% success in all cases. The news further stated that after getting a patent for the said medicine, Aravind Nair had decided to come to India and start the manufacture of the medicines in India. The reason for his coming to India was that the newly invented cancer medicine was mostly plant-herbs based, and they were mostly grown in India for the Ayurvedic medicines. He was going to tie up with the existing Ayurvedic firms for the production of the new medicines.”
Purohitji’s eyes welled up as he looked at Netra. He said, “John has done amendment for his sins. My temple treasure is not lost but is going to be alive in the medicines prepared based on John’s research”. After a few days when he was plucking flowers from the garden, he found some unfamiliar shrubs had sprouted around the roots of mango tree. He called Mahadev. Mahadev came running and he asked him,” Did you see these plants? Did you plant any seeds there? These tiny plants look so different.”
Mahadev blinked and shook his head and said, “No Purohitji, I never did any gardening in this area....” Suddenly remembering something he said “Purohitji, those scriptures which were all wet and destroyed. I buried them here only”
Unable to control his excitement, muttering “Is it possible?” Purohit knelt down near the tree and plucked a few leaves and smelt it. His eyes widened. He said, “Mahadev go and call our Ayurvedic medicine man. I think these are some rare medicinal plants which have grown out of the scriptures buried” Within five minutes the Ayurvedic man came and he confirmed Purohit’s doubt. He said, “Purohitji these very rare medicinal herbs grows in very few jungles of Himalaya and these were supposed to cure many complex diseases, but these have vanished for many many generations.”
Purohitji gave instruction to Mahadev and Manjunath to take special care of those herbs and also try to do graft planting so that more plants can be grown. He came inside the temple and with folded hands prayed with tears flowing freely “Oh my God, Lingeshwar, the scriptures were probably coated with these rare herb’s juices and seeds. So, though the scriptures were destroyed by the rain the valuable herbs had come out to save the ailing man. It was just the right time for it to come out from the safe. Your treasure can never vanish. Just like you, they are indestructible, going from form to form” The large Lingam of Lingeshwar seemed to be smiling at his dear Bhakta.[16]
Chapter 56
Prowling in the Dark
28th May Night 11.p.m.
After two days rest Nakul was feeling very fresh. He and Utkarsh and were in the office attending as usual to the normal work when one constable from the ACP’s office brought a bag and handed it over to Nakul. He asked Utkarsh to lock the cabin door and then he opened the bag.
The bag had two sets of black coloured uniforms like the ones which the commandos wear along with a face masks and black scarves. Special guns, knives, night vision goggles were also provided along with a tiny latest infrared camera. A special gun just like the one which the forest rescue officers used was the most exciting thing for them. It could shoot arrows and knock the wild animals unconscious. This was especially given to them so that, if by any chance, they encounter any wild animals in the forest, they won’t be compelled to shoot it. Thus the whole kit was complete and ready.
They waited till it was 9 p.m. and then started on their adventure. They took the roundabout road, circling the village and by the time they reached the edge of the forest, it was 11:30 p.m. They parked at a little distance away from the forest. The area was totally deserted. They quickly changed into the black uniform. Carrying all their equipment on their backpack, they stepped into the forest.
The new moon day was two days away. The forest was drenched in total darkness. A few tiny nocturnal creatures made some buzzing noise. With the help of their infra goggles they were able to see comfortably in the night. With their magnetic compass in hand, they kept moving towards the East.
The forest seemed to be a totally virgin forest. Unlike the other forests where the villagers go inside the forest to collect firewood or forest products, here there was no sign of any worn out narrow paths on the ground, proving that people had never walked through this forest. Nakul thought that it may be due to the fact that the villagers had sufficient crops etc. and there was no need for them to enter the forest.
They had moved for half an hour. The forest became thicker. The unruly, wild branches of the thick bushes and creepers got entangled in their boots and often they had to stop and pull them out. Suddenly an owl hooted and flew almost touching Nakul’s head. He ducked in time. They had become a little breathless with the black cloth masking
their easy breathing. Both of them waited, breathing hard to get some air.
Now they had moved about two kilometres into the forest. Still there was no sign of any human activity. Nakul moved close to Utkarsh and pulling down his face mask whispered, “Utkarsh, the forest does not show any signs of human beings coming in at all. The growth is so thick that if anyone had walked here a few times, it would have shown at least some marks. What shall we do now?”
Utkarsh whispered back, “Sir, to maintain the direction, we are constantly moving in the east direction so far. Maybe they had moved in some other direction.”
Nakul thought for a moment and said, “In that case, we have to go back to our original point and track in another direction. Maybe we have to come here for two three nights.”
Utkarsh said, “Sir, from this point itself , suppose we start moving perpendicular, means, move in the north direction instead of the east?”
Nakul said, “Oh that is also a good idea. Let us mark this point and then move in the north direction.” Utkarsh pulled his scarf out and tore off a small length of the cloth. They tied it to the low branch of a tree. Then they started moving in the north direction.
Now they started seeing smashed bushes and grass. Nakul pointed to the smashed areas and Utkarsh nodded. They moved further for about ten minutes. The smashed grass on the ground did not show any regular path or pattern, but were found to be random and scattered.
Nakul whispered, “This shows that there were many people, moving frequently around this area. Definitely, they could not have been the villagers, who generally would have the habit of moving by the same route every time! This must be the track of those men we suspect.” Utkarsh nodded.
