Shoot all the blue Jay's you want,
if you can hit'em.
But remember, it's a sin
To kill a mocking bird -- Harper Lee
Pratap looked at Vidya lying on the floor dispassionately and spit on the floor.
"Good Riddance !" he hissed and started to move around restlessly.
Whenever he committed any sort of violent acts, he got an unnatural high. He wanted to go back to his den and enjoy this moment.
But S P Kamal Chaudhary stopped him. He checked all the surroundings thoroughly, and turned off the lights in the server room except the interior one. A pale light from the lights in the corridor was coming through the side window as well.
Professor Tripathi was almost frozen with shock and guilt. He had never seen anything like this, and the very fact that Pratap looked totally unaffected, after gruesomely committing a murder was sending shivers up his spine.
His heart wrenched as he looked at Vidya lying dead on the floor, surrounded by these heartless men. But he neither had power to save her before, nor to stop whatever these guys have planned for her. He was a coward and puppet in their hands and he knew well to keep his mouth shut.
Looking at Kamal, he asked timidly "Can I leave now? I don't think you guys need me anymore."
Kamal smiled sarcastically "Really Tripathi, trying to run away are you? I am afraid we all have to stay back till this girl's body is taken care of."
"Taken care of? What do you mean Kamal?" the Dean was perspiring freely now.
Ignoring his question Kamal asked him back "When does the Hostel gate close? It's very busy now I think."
"The main gate closes generally around 10PM. Yes everyone is back in their rooms by then, but now due to the Makar Sankranthi festival, almost everyone would have gone back to their home towns. Today is the last day of the term, so the hostel would almost be empty. The Hospital gate closes at 10pm too, except the emergency clinic." The Dean blurted out all the details in panic.
Kamal nodded satisfactorily. "What about her roommate in the hostel?"
"Yes, I have seen her leaving with a travel bag when we were coming in before. I am sure she had left for hometown too." the Dean replied.
Addressing everyone, Kamal spoke clearly "Ok here is the plan. After 10pm, Pratap's men will go and check Vidya's room and get it ready. We have to make it look like suicide. So check the ceiling fan etc. Once we get the all clear from them, we will carry the body to her room and hang it to the ceiling"
Pratap was getting irritated. "How long do we have to wait now?" He almost kicked one of the adjacent tables before he was dragged back by his men.
After 10 PM, three of Pratap's henchmen left for the hostel. One remained near the hostel entrance as a look out, while the other two entered Vidya's room. They cleared the space and arranged a rope to hang against the ceiling fan hook and a stool underneath.
After getting the all clear signal, Pratap and his henchmen carried the body of Vidya, through the IT LAB corridor towards the Dean's car, closely followed by Kamal and the Dean . Later they slowly drove their car all the way to hostel driveway towards Vidya's room.
Pratap's men took Vidya's body inside and hung it to the ceiling fan. Kamal Chaudhary ripped the top part of Vidya's statement which was addressed to the Nasscom Security Company.
It now read like this.
I admit that I have made a mistake. I take full responsibility for this.
Signed Vidya
They left the note securely on the bed, and checking once more that everything was in place, closed the door behind him and left.
Kamal, Pratap and his gang slowly walked back to the Hospital entrance through the same path they came before. Dean drove back his car to the entrance and was waiting for them.
Pratap and his henchmen left in their 4 wheel drive while the Dean dropped Kamal back at Vikram Chaudhary's mansion where his Jeep was.
Vikram congratulated Kamal and Pratap, and was happy to know that their little operation was a complete success.
*****
Ajay was held up as in the police station, as planned by SP Kamal Chaudhary by his trusted constables with one excuse or another.
By the time he finished his work and paper work, it was almost 11pm. He went home and crashed on to his bed.
Next day morning, Kamal Chaudhary arrived early at the police station, and Dean was in his office too by 8 am. It was arranged that the Dean would instruct the hostel warden to get the cleaners to clean all the rooms in Vidya's hostel floor.
As they anticipated, the cleaners ran for help the moment they found Vidya's body hanging in her room. The Dean called the police station, and Kamal and his trusted constable immediately left for the hostel.
Constable Ramesh who was just entering the police station saw this, and wondered why and where the Superintendent of Police was going, so early in the morning.
After reaching the hostel, SP Kamal Chaudhary met the grieving Dean and Warden. He started preliminary investigation, and asked all the present witnesses about what they saw etc. He then called the Police station to arrange for the forensic team and photographer to arrive. Everyone in the police station was now aware of the death of Vidya, but were too sad to break the news to Ajay.
Just then Ajay arrived at the Police station, cursing himself for being late again.
Everyone looked apprehensively at him. Ajay didn't understand what was going on.
Constable Ramesh approached Ajay and choked "Sir, the most terrible thing happened.
We are not sure what the facts are actually... We just got a call from Vidya Madam's hostel. They were saying that she had committed suicide. I just can't believe it. Please go there straight away Sir. SP Chaudhary Sir is already there."
Ajay looked stunned, unable to comprehend what Ramesh was talking about. How could Vidya commit Suicide? Impossible. What was going on?
Mechanically he rushed back to his Jeep and started driving towards the hostel.
He felt as if his head is spinning. Tears stung in his eyes. He blinked them away.
He just couldn't believe it. It cannot be true.
As he reached Vidya's room in the hostel, he found the police photographer just leaving the scene. SP Kamal Chaudhary and the Dean were there talking in low tones, and the Dean was holding a paper in his hand.
SP Kamal Chaudhary approached Ajay and held him in his embrace gently. He then took Ajay around to where Vidya had been moved.
There was a white cloth covering her body from head to toe. Ajay slowly removed the cloth from her face.
Vidya's serene and smiling face had now turned grim and swollen.
Ajay could not bear to look at it, and pushed back the cover on to her and collapsed on the ground next to her.
He slowly gathered her hand under the sheet. It was cold. He held it in his both hands and touched it to his lips. He didn't even realize he was crying till the tears along his nose started falling on to both their hands.
Both the Dean and SP Kamal Chaudhary looked at each other, and after sometime, slowly approached Ajay to console him.
Ajay slowly got up wiping his tears off. He just blinked at the surroundings, as if taking it all in, and finally looked at the Dean questioningly.
The Dean felt quite sick to talk to him but managed to somehow sound accusatory.
"I am sorry to say this but in the current circumstances, I have to say this to you..."
Something in the Dean's tone made Ajay's body stiffen. He glared at the Dean.
The Dean looked nervously towards SP Kamal Chaudhary. Kamal gave him a subtle nod to go ahead.
The Dean had his prepared story ready.
All he had to do was to sound genuine, and give the details to Ajay, who almost looked ready to explode.
"There had been an accidental mix up of the blood plasma for the patient in the cancer ward, Mr. Sunder Lal. His blood group is "A" but Vidya gave him Blood group "O" plasma instead. He passed away yesterday morning.
Our Senior Doctor Patel got suspicious and checked it, and realized what was going on yesterday evening. It seems he found Vidya in his room, moving about in highly nervous state, yesterday morning.
When he enquired as to why she was there, she just bluffed to him, saying that she was not feeling well, and wanted to take the day off. She need not ask a senior doctor like Dr.Patel to take the day off. All she had to do was inform the duty doctor.
May be she went into his room to destroy the written logs placed in his room, but she got caught red handed. And when she realized that her mistake will be exposed, maybe she was overcome with guilt and committed suicide.
As you can see Mr. Ajay, she left a suicide note to this effect" added the Dean trying to point something to Ajay.
Ajay was seething with rage. How dare he lay such false accusations on Vidya? He reached the Dean in two strides and dragged him by the collar.
Kamal Chaudhary and two other constables pulled Ajay away from the Dean, and tried to calm him down.
Kamal tried to reason with Ajay "Please calm down. I can understand what you are going through, but the Dean was just trying to do his duty here, Vidya has indeed left a suicide note." He showed him the note.
Ajay looked at the note. Something about the note looked odd to him but he could not understand exactly what it was.
Still trying to get his head around the current situation, he started asking Kamal Chaudhary for all the information.
"Sir when did this happen? When did you arrive here?"
Relieved that Ajay had at last calmed down, Kamal Chaudhary replied "As per forensics, death occurred sometime last night but they won't say exactly when, until they do the post mortem. I came to station quite early today, as I had some other work, but when the Dean called me I rushed here immediately. I finished all the preliminary formalities and was waiting for you. You or someone need to inform her family right?" He added sympathetically.
Ajay responded automatically "I will do it. I will go to my... our hometown to inform her family."
Just as he said those words, a fresh wave of anguish hit him, at the prospect of informing Vidya's father Brijesh Mehta. He was almost like a father figure to him.
How will Brijesh Sir survive this? He had pinned all his hopes on Vidya now.
Ajay sighed deeply. Somehow he should find the courage to do this terrible task.
"I will bring Vidya's father Mr. Mehta along. I will be back by tomorrow."
Kamal Chaudhary continued his act of the grieving colleague and patted Ajay on his shoulder.
"Please do whatever necessary, I will manage things here and in the station" he assured Ajay.
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Pratap Chaudhary and SP Kamal have successfully managed to
show Vidya's death to be a suicide.
Can you imagine what Ajay must be going through? And now he has
the most heart breaking job of informing Vidya's family about this.
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