The man in the dark hoodie was
waiting in the shadows. It was nearly dawn – the sunlight was subtly shining
through the cloud, an indication of the clear day to come. It was peaceful and
calm, but he was hardly aware of it. He was seething with a violent inner
excitement, anticipating his next move. He saw the elderly, slight woman in her
late fifties, clad in a saree and wearing Nike trainers walking briskly towards
the steps leading from the Begumpet station parking lot to the Greenland’s
flyover. Seeing her, he grinned and moved swiftly yet stealthily towards her.
As he was bringing the cosh down on her head she heard him and turned her head
around. She let out a stifled scream as he hit her and groaning she crumpled
and rolled down the steps. A long distance train roaring past the station
masked the sound that she made. He hit her repeatedly as she tried to get up
giggling softly to himself till she lay inert. Blood started pooling round her
head where she lay. He suddenly felt tired and sleepy, yet highly gratified.
This was way better than any drugs. He took out the camera and took some
photos. He looked around furtively to check if anyone was watching. Luckily the
place was quite dark and the parking lot was deserted. But there was a lot more
work to do – he must hurry or he might be caught.
The dead body of the victim was discovered the same day,
i.e., on 15th April, around 6:30 am in the morning by an auto driver who had
come to drop a few passengers to the station. The police quickly barricaded the
crime scene and informed the Begumpet police station head, Inspector Satish
Rao, who in turn called Gopi Reddy. The auto driver, who had found the body,
hung around looking nervous.
When Inspector Satish Rao arrived at the crime scene, he
found a crowd of people surrounding the dead body. The auto driver was trying
to ensure that nobody touched the body. The victim was identified by the local
people as Dr. Renuka Reddy who stayed in an apartment in Brahmanwadi, very
close to the station. She was a gynaecologist and had her own nursing home in
Begumpet. Her daughter-in-law had been informed by some locals and she was
already present along with another woman when Inspector Satish Rao arrived at
the crime scene. When she introduced herself, Inspector Rao asked her to wait
till he finished talking to the auto driver.
Satish Rao now looked around him and enquired, ‘I hope
nobody has touched the dead body?’
The auto driver came forward to say, ‘Sir, I had informed
the police and I have not allowed anybody to touch the body since I discovered
it. My brother-in-law is a constable in the Police force. Also I have seen
enough movies. So I know a bit about police procedures,’ he added proudly
The auto driver was an intelligent and reliable looking
middle aged man. Right now he looked visibly shaken. Satish Rao asked, ‘What is
your name?’
He replied, ‘Srinivas Goud, Sir. This is the first time I
seeing something like this. I never want to experience it again. This is
horrible.’
Satish Rao made a commiserating sound, ‘I know how you feel.
But the investigation has to proceed. Tell me, how did you notice the body?’
‘Sir I had dropped a few passengers who were taking the
Faluknama Gulbarga express at 6:08 in Begumpet Station. They were already
delayed. I was curious to see if they caught the train as I know them.’
‘How do you know them?’
‘Sir they stay in Kamalapuri Colony. I also stay nearby.
They use my services quite often.’
‘Okay so you were curious to see whether they caught the
train. What happened then?’
‘I waited at the entrance near the ticket counter from where
I can see the platform number two. As the Faluknama Gulbarga Express was
delayed by 15 minutes, they were able to catch the train. Then I turned around
went back to my auto and was lighting a cigarette when I noticed the body. I
called my brother-in-law who then informed the Begumpet Police,’ Srinivas
explained.
He was clearly becoming more and more nervous on being asked
so many questions. To put him at ease, Satish Rao said, ‘Well done. Give your
name and address to Constable Sumon there and then you can leave.’
Looking proud for himself, Srinivas Goud strutted towards
Constable Sumon.
While Satish Rao was questioning the auto driver, he had
noticed that Renuka’s daughter-in-law was getting impatient and was angrily
trying to draw his attention.
As he turned towards her, ACP Reddy arrived with his
team. She barged her way towards Satish
and Reddy and began shouting, ‘Look at what happened to my mum. What steps are
you taking to nab the killer? I thought
that Hyderabad was a safe city to stay. How can a respectable citizen like my
mother be murdered in a public place like this? And you are not even talking to
me.’ Tears of anger and frustration were running down her face.
Constable Sumon, who was a local of that area, whispered
into ACP Reddy’s ears, ‘This is Dr. Priya Reddy, the victim, Dr. Renuka’s
daughter-in-law. The other one is Dr. Renuka’s long-time friend Barkha Bisht.’
Dr. Priya’s eyes were red from recent weeping. As soon as
she heard the news, she had just put on a mismatched salwar suit and ran down
from her home. Her hair was undone and she looked half mad with grief. She was
obviously very fond of her mother-in-law. Barkha had also been crying, but she
was now more composed. She was trying to soothe Dr. Priya.
ACP Reddy said curtly, ‘It’s also Dr. Renuka’s fault. There
is a dangerous killer on the loose. She shouldn’t have come out alone this
early in the morning. Anyway, what was she doing here?’
‘Every morning she goes for a swim in the country club. She
takes this shortcut from our apartment to the club though the station. The
steps at the end of the parking lot lead to the Greenland flyover and from
there it is a few minutes to the club.
She has done this for 5 years and nothing had happened. We have been
staying in this locality for fifteen years and everyone knows us.’ Dr. Priya
spat out.
‘That doesn’t mean that a sociopathic killer won’t attack
her in a lonely spot. We’ll need to take the body away for autopsy. I suggest
that you go home and try to take some rest. Come, let me drop both of you back
to your apartment.’
‘Oh, it is only a short distance. We can walk back.’ Barkha
said now.
‘No, it’s alright. I am anyway going to that direction, I
will drop you.’ ACP Reddy gently guided them towards his car after requesting
Satish Rao to make arrangements to shift the body.
During the drive back, Dr. Priya said, ‘Generally she would
start for the club around 5:30 am walk for an hour around the Kundanbagh area
and then swim for 30 minutes, but as she had a delivery scheduled around 9 am,
she must have decided to go to the club
a bit earlier than normal. I am a light sleeper, so I heard her close the front
door of our apartment around 5 am. It was still dark when she went out. It
would have been dawn by 5:30 am and she would not have been killed.’ She was
gibbering, talking feverishly, more to herself that the ACP. She looked dazed
and traumatised and tears were falling freely from her eyes.
Barkha said sharply, ‘Priya – please try to calm down. You
will fall sick if you do not pull yourself together.’ Priya ignored her.
‘You stayed with your mother-in-law?’ Reddy asked Dr. Priya.
‘Yes. I am a widow and as my husband was her only child, I
became like her daughter. Oh, why do I always lose the people I love?’ she
wailed hysterically.
Gopi Reddy felt a twinge of compassion for her. But he said
sharply, ‘Pull yourself up. Going into hysteria won’t help anybody. Try to
compose yourself and think about whether Dr. Renuka might have known the
killer. Maybe the killer had a grudge against her and singled her out. Think
about it. If you can recall any unsavoury incidences let us know.’
Then in a more gentle tone he continued, ‘I understand that
this is a very traumatic time for you. You take some rest. We might need to
question you again, but we’ll do so a few days later. Right now I have most of
the information I need.’
A large number of neighbours and acquaintances had already
come over and after handing over the weeping and hysterical Dr. Priya to one of
the elder relatives, ACP Reddy walked next door to Vikram Rana’s home. He
wondered what his ex-colleague and close friend Vikram was doing and whether
the news of the murder had reached him as yet. It was almost 8 am and as he
knew that as Vikram was an early riser, he would not mind a visit from Reddy.
He would also like to hear the news of the murder directly from him. Reddy was
also not ashamed to admit to himself, that Vikram, being Dr. Renuka Reddy’s
neighbour, might be able to provide some more information about the family.
Vikram was tall and had been athletic. But due to his hectic
work schedules, he had lately been unable to exercise and like Reddy, being a
big time foodie, had put on weight. He had been put under strict diet by his
health freak wife Veena. So he had been pushed out of his bed by 6:30 am and
had been forced to run on the treadmill that she had gifted him. Though Vikram
was tough with criminals, he was prudent enough not to get on the wrong side of
his wife. She was the undisputed boss in the Rana household.
After jogging for an hour he had been hoping for a hearty
breakfast of aloo parathas and yoghurt,
but instead was given oats and soya milk.
Looking at the bowl of oats he said in an outraged voice,
‘What’s this?’
‘This is a bowl of oats. You are approaching middle age
Vikram and you should eat more healthy food.’ Veena said sternly.
‘But this tastes like sand.’
‘What nonsense. This is organic steel cut oats. Extremely
good for your health. I have added soya milk. That is why it tastes a bit
funny. But you will get used to it soon!’
Vikram put a spoon of the oats gingerly in his mouth. He
nearly gagged at the taste. ‘It has no sugar! It tastes horrible,’ he
protested, thumping the table so loudly that the newspaper nearly flew off the
table.
Veena looked at him even more sternly. ‘Sugar is bad for
your health. I will add some honey okay? And try not to make such stupid noises
so early in the morning. The neighbours will complain!’
Vikram went purple in the face, but knowing that it was no
use trying to argue with his wife, he manfully swallowed another spoonful of
the oats when the doorbell rang.
Thankfully abandoning his breakfast, he opened the door to
find Gopi Reddy standing outside.
Vikram raised his eyebrows in surprise on seeing Reddy so
early at the door. ‘What happened?’
‘The second murder happened right here near the Begumpet
Railway Station.’ ACP Reddy said rather baldly.
‘What! Right under my nose? Who was the victim?’