An old building resembling like a mosque in Shamshabad, Hyderabad was rather busy that day.
A lean boy in his fifteen walked up to the Head constable Naidu Kanimeni and Sub-Inspector Shiva Thiruvilwamala and said
"Sir tea."
Naidu - "Keep it at the table."
He stood there watching at the Shiva and Naidu.
Naidu looked at him and said - "What do you want?"
"Sir … I know who the murderer is. I saw the news on Poly channel"
Shiva turned towards the boy and shouted - "Get lost". The boy ran towards the exit door without looking back.
Shiva looked at Naidu, confused -
"I am not sure if these two men have committed murder. I cannot see a clear motive."
They have just returned from talking to the two suspects.
_______________________________________
A big action figure of Odiya superstar "Uttam Mohanty" was flashing brightly behind the auto-rickshaw -
"Rule the world, Without Fear"
In a world of NTR and Chiranjeevi, that is a bold statement.
The music was loud and still Japendra aka Chinta was talking to the passenger, a Muslim lady in her burka, throughout their journey. Once she got down near the Market, she gave him an extra 10 rupees with a smile and asked,
"When should any one do Family planning?"
"Madam, as soon as you find that you cannot manage your kids" - Chinta replied and they laughed. Chinta is popular in Shamshabad not because he is nice and honest auto-driver, but due to a publicity stunt by him to model for Family planning advertisements and posters.
Lady asked him with a smile -
"So Family planned … ?"
"No Madam, I have a 3 year old angel. Need a couple more before anything can planned."
"Three more, who will pay for their marriage"
"Madam, With God's help, I expect them to fall in love and run away with rich boys to get married"
Chinta kick started his auto and raced away.
_______________________________________
The secretary of Sheva Sangam International School walked up to him and said
"Sir, You can see the admission committee members now."
Chinta and Pallavi along with their daughter Hamsa entered the room. They sat down after the old man in the middle asked them to sit down.
The Old man continued -
"I want to welcome you to our school. So we are meeting here to discuss the admission of your daughter, Hamsa to the nursery school. So tell me about yourself"
Chinta stood up to answer and the old man asked him to sit and answer.
"I am Japendra and this is my wife Pallavi. We are from the state of Orissa. I am a auto-driver. I have completed 10+2 and my wife 10. We live in Thukkuguda. This is our only daughter"
Chinta had prepared and practised this answer. Pallavi kept quiet. After some brief intrductions, the Old lady in the corner turned towards Pallavi and asked
"Pallavi can you tell me What is 16 times 16?"
Pallavi looked at Chinta and then turned towards the lady and replied
"256"
Pallavi works as a maid in the School's assistant Head master's house. A liberal man, who hated these interviews gave them the set of questions and answers.
To the surprise of the panel they answered most of the questions.
As Chinta started to feel confident, the old man turned towards him
"Very good. We would like to admit your daughter to our school"
Pallavi and Chinta couldn't hide their joy and felt as if they have won a state elections.
"So you can enrol your daughter after you pay a admission fee of 70,000 rupees. You have till this month end to pay the fee. Good luck"
Chinta looked speechless. That is close to 5 month's savings for which they had not budgeted.
Chinta waked out without saying a word.
Pallavi uttered "Thank you sir and madam" as instructed by the assistant Headmaster.
At the school gates, Chinta looked confidently at Pallavi - "We have only 10,000 now. We need 60,000 more by 28th."
_______________________________________
Mangal stood up and said -
"Sir, there are rules and regulations. I cannot grant you loan based on your sad story."
The man looked angrily at Mangal.
"My situation is a story for you…. You know one thing, you are responsible for if my family end up in street."
He cursed him before the watch man dragged him away.
This is usual for Mangal, who is a Manager for loan sanctions. His work was to follow the recommendations of the dummy box.
Mangal felt sad,"Why cannot they get this computer to speak for itself. I am tired of being its spokesperson."
He wanted to take a breather and walked out to the coffee table.
"What sir, you are looking low today?" enquired Thirumalla.
"Sir, I feel like a miserable family counsellor. I have to listen to their problems, issues and then tell them that I cannot do anything for them." - Mangal
"Hmm. you need to relax. Sir, join us for a party tonight at Hemala bar."
Mangal thought about it for a moment.
"No sir, I have to meet someone today" - Mangal started to walk towards his office.
"Meeting a prospective bride? " chuckled Thirumala.
Seeing Mangal enter his office, Thirumala turned towards his colleague and whispered, "This is the third girl he is seeing this month. Poor guy, trying so hard to fall into this miserable jail for life"
_______________________________________
It is one of the most expensive restaurants in Hyderabad. The lighting was dim with pleasant carnatic music playing in background. Bahula restaurant chain is managed by Ravikumar. Bahula is known for its varied menu and its fusion of different Indian cuisines.
Mangal had invited Kashinath to Bahula, to make a good impression. He was not expecting, Kashinath's daughter, Vijeta to accompany him.
Mangal still remembered Vijetha coming closer to him and saying
"The sauce is on your shirt". She touched his shirt and brushed it.
Mangal eyes were glued to her. Only after reaching home, did he notice that there was no stain in his shirt.
Mangal looked at his shirt again and smiled.. He wore the same shirt. He could see Kashinath parking his car. He took his smartphone out, looked at his recordings and started the audio recorder.
Kashinath greeted him and quickly started
"As you know I am diabetic and We will order food and talk as we eat."
Mangal nodded his head in agreement.
They ordered quickly and Kashinath looked at him,
"My daughter likes you and I wouldn't go against her wish. I want to discuss few things before we finalise this engagement."
Mangal felt relieved. He knew Kashinath doesn't beat around the bush.
"So Vijetha wants to continue working and I want you to promise me that you will not stop her"
Vijetha works as Manager at one of the Kashinath's factory.
"Marriage will happen in my home town, Sillod, Maharashtra and we will manage the marriage expenses and I expect you to live in our flat at Banjara Hills".
Banjara Hills is one of the poshest places in Hyderabad.
"Before marriage, …"
Kashinath felt a stone in his mouth. He looked up and asked for the Manager.
"I want to talk to Ravikumar"
Ravikumar hurried towards the table.
Kashinath - "Ravi, there is a stone in the rice. This is very disappointing …" and went on for a minute.
Ravi said "Sorry sir" and offered to get it replaced.
Mangal wouldn't dare to humiliate one of the biggest hotelier in Hyderabad. After Ravi disappeared,
"I want you to sort out your family issues."
Mangal kept quiet as usual.
"I hope you understand what I mean. This marriage cannot go ahead till your mother gets well"
Mangal nodded - "Yes, I am preparing to get her operated as soon as possible".
"If you need any help"
Mangal replied quickly - "No sir."
"Then we are fine. Once your mother gets well, we will decide on a good date."
Kashinath didn't wait for the replacement dish and left him alone.
Mangal looked at the Mercedes speeding away, and felt a pain in his stomach. He gets this pain whenever he gets tensed and feels that he couldn't control the situation. A prisoner of his age and social pressures, he knew he will be ruled by Kashinath and family for the rest of his life. To make this happen, he needs 10 lakhs to get his mother's breast cancer treated.
Mangal placed a 500 rupee note on the table. The smile of Gandhiji resembled that of Vijetha. As he stood up to leave, Ravikumar was there next to him. Ravikumar calmly stated.
"Mangal, I want to talk to you. If you remember, we met the other day regarding my loan"
_______________________________________
Shiva walked straight to the Hospital for the post-mortem report. He found Dr Aravind drunk.
"Whiskey for post-mortems?"
Doctor smiled at him, "He died of atherosclerosis"
Shiva replied - "Right, is it a alien from Mars. Where can I arrest him".
"Hmm you can, your arch nemesis is made of hard metal. You can find him in comics", Doctor laughed out loud.
"Thank you Doctor. Can I see his body?" Shiva felt irritated but didn't show it.
"Sure. This guy has been suffering from hypertension and the alien hit him so hard that he died of blood clot." - Doctor.
"Any evidence of murder weapon" - Shiva.
"No."
Shiva started inspecting his body for anything the Doctor had missed. Dr. Aravind usually does a competent job.
"There is no blood wounds."
"Yes, the clot was internal, He would have died within minutes. I predict he died exactly around 10.00 PM, 28th February."
The police had recovered the body, only the next day.
"Thank you Doctor, that was very useful. I will take leave. Please don't drink for the next post-mortem."
Shiva stood up and walked out. As he reached the Reception, the nurse on the telephone desk shouted,
"Inspector Shiva."
Shiva walked to the nurse, "I am the Inspector"
Nurse handed the phone to Shiva
"Based on the head wound, your alien should be at least 6 foot tall." - Doctor Aravind.
_______________________________________
Naidu looked at Shiva with wide eyes,
"Six foot? So we are yet to catch him then."
They both stayed silent for few moments.
Shiva broke the silence - "Now we have two suspects who don't have any motive. A claw hammer in the murder scene but without any finger prints."
"No finger prints … he should be a professional" - Naidu stated it with amusement.
"He should have left us some clue."
Shiva went to his draw and took the pictures of the claw hammer. His eyes lit up when he saw SSA inscribed on top.
"Naidu, what do you think SSA means."
"Sir, It may be the name of the company that made it"
Searching for SSA they found, Sri Sri Academy in Hyderabad.
"Naidu, I want you to go to this academy and see if there is any connection.",
Shiva continued - ".I will check if any of our three men are connected to SSA."
Naidu knew that SSA is not Sri Sri Academy, but he didn't want to argue with Shiva now.
As he took his mobile out, the power in their police station went off. Naidu walked away cursing the state of the Government. He thought,if those street lamps were on, we would have some witness or may be he will alive.
_______________________________________
Ravikumar looked out of his window. It was raining heavily. He missed the days when he would walk out and dance in these rains. He remembered that it was the time for his "Sugar" tablets. He took all of them in a gulp and drank some water.
He could not think anything else other than his son, Tejaskumar. He has been hit badly in the head. Ravi could have managed the situation better. He is his only son and he is responsible for his failures. He was constantly thinking about the exact conversation -
"Teja, I don't blame you for having trouble in your business. But you shouldn't have hidden this mess from me"
"Father, I will manage. You don't have to worry"
"What did you say? I checked with the accounts, they are making no money for 6 months now with accumulated loss of over 60 lakhs."
"Father, you don't have to worry."
"I have to worry. I have invested 12 crores in this game of yours. Who do you think will pay for the damages in your pub. I didn't give you this money for you and your friends to drink and get entertained. "
"I guess that is my share"
Ravi stood up and looked at him and slapped him so hard that he fell over the coffee table. Only after he got admitted to the hospital, the doctor confirmed that he was on drugs.
He picked up his phone and called his Accountant.
"Hello … "
"Sir …."
"Is there any luck?"- Ravikumar.
"Sir, I spoke to the owners, they both agreed to wait till the month end for payments"
"Hmmm, What about the loan on the property."
"Sir, the bank manager says that there is some trouble with the land documents and he couldn't sanction the loan amount."
"What is his name?"
"Mangal, sir."
"Ok I will take care. Also look into the accounts to see if there are more problems. I don't want any more surprises."
"Sir. I checked , we need 16 crores by month end to close these pubs. Else we have to file for Bankruptcy"
_______________________________________
Naidu put his headphones and looked at Inspector Shiva
"This guy is really weird. He has even recorded a call with an escort"
"Naidu, please concentrate on this murder."
"Sir, looks like we can convict many people based on these records."
"Come on Naidu, play that last recording for me again"
Voice 1 : "Hello Sir."
Voice 2 : "No need to stand up. Please be seated. Do you want something to eat?"
Voice 1 : "No thanks sir. I had my dinner. It is almost 11 now."
Voice 2 : "Ok I will not keep you waiting. Here, …"
Voice 1 : "I will sanction your loan tomorrow. It will take a week for the money transfer."
Voice 2 : "Thats fine. I need the sanction letter. Please send it to my accountant."
Voice 1 : "Ok sir. I take leave then."
Voice 2 : "You came by auto right?"
Voice 1 : "Yes sir, As you asked me to."
Voice 2 : "Wait I will get you an auto."
Phone dialing ….
Voice 2 : "Chinta, come to Bahula Restaurant. ..."
muted conversations ...
Voice 2 : "So congratulations. I heard you are getting married to Kashinath's daughter."
Voice 1 : "Yes sir. Thank you."
Shiva stood up and shouted - "That is enough."
Naidu - "I have told Preetham from Anti corruption unit, that they can enquire once we are done with this murder enquiry."
"Hmmm. Lucky fellows. We should have taken this 12 lakhs and act as if no corruption is involved here." Shiva and Naidu laughed.
Naidu - "I also heard that the hotel owner's accountant filed for Bankruptcy today."
Shiva - "Not our problem. Bring me both the suspects statements, I want to see if they both correlate "
_______________________________________
Hemala had a high fever. She was breathing heavily and moaning as she slept in her bed. Pallavi was consoling her. The Doctor as asked her to rest and prescribed some antibiotics. Pallavi was also tired. She heard a familiar auto sound and walked out to see Chinta arriving.
Pallavi asked - "Did you arrange money for the school payments?"
Chinta - "Hmmm. I will arrange. Thimmaiya promised me that he will give me ten thousand."
Thimmaiya is the owner of the biggest auto stand in Shamshabad.
Pallavi - "I asked Tejaskumar sir. He said he will give me 10,000"
Chinta - "That drug addict. He is good for nothing. Does he bring many girls home?"
Pallavi - "I know. I am working there only because Ravikumar sir asked me to."
Pallavi worked as a maid in Ravikumar's house and now at Tejaskumar's flat.
Pallavi walked off as Hamsa started crying again.
Chinta's cell phone started ringing.
Brahma a local thug - "Your plan looks fine. But I need 60% of the take as I take all the risk."
Chinta started laughing "Knowledge is power. Only I know Ravikumar sir. Only I know when a passenger has money."
Brahma - "Chinta … don't act smart. This is what you have been saying for 2 weeks now. No catch still."
Chinta - "Patience brother. I will call you once I get the fish. One important thing, my passenger should not get hurt. Just scare him. That will do."
Brahma - "Ok ok. Just get on with your work. … This brand is like water"
Chinta on hearing the sound of bottles breaking - "You are drunk again."
He knew he cannot trust Brahma again as their previous adventure made them just 2000 rupees. But this time he was waiting for a big fish. Ravikumar always uses him for any important passengers and he knew if they are carrying any load. Chinta was waiting for that one phone call.
Chinta thought God is great as he saw Ravikumar call him -
"Chinta, come to Bahula Restaurant. ..."
_______________________________________
Shiva put on his eyeglasses and started reading the statements
Name : Japendra aka Chinta
Age : 37
Address : College circle.
"Chinta picked up Mangal from Bahula restaurant. Mangal wanted to be dropped at Prasad nagar. Mangal was wearing a gold chain and he had a bag with Bahula restaurant symbol on it. As they started reached Chinmaya nagar, auto stalled due to Cylinder block.
As Chinta was checking the engine, a dark guy in his forties, snatched Mangal's gold chain and ran away. Chinta started chasing the man as Mangal followed him.
Chinta appears to have lost both Mangal and the thief. "
Name : Ravikumar Thilagan
Age : 59
Address : Bahula restaurants.
"Ravikumar met Mangal at his Bahula restaurant. Mangal is a frequent customer and had arranged a auto for his travel back home. Ravikumar saw that Mangal had left his phone. He followed the auto to give it back. At Chinmaya nagar he saw Mangal chasing the auto driver Chinta. Ravikumar was alerted and started to follow Mangal . It was raining heavily and he had lost him."
Naidu entered the office in full energy "Sir, our superstars are ready for questioning."
Shiva asked "Is Ravi's lawyer there as well?"
"No sir, I don't know why, he is come alone."
"Let us talk to the driver first."
_______________________________________
Shiva and Naidu entered Room no 343. Chinta was very nervous and shouted
"Sir, I have already told you what ever I know."
Naidu laughed at Chinta and said "Yes , I agree. By the way, do you know Brahma."
Chinta looked more nervous.
Naidu continued, "Brahma is a local rowdy known for burglary. He told us that he knew you. Any comments"
"Sir, I heard he is a bad person. You should not believe in what ever he says."
"That we will decide. Looks like you have called him twice every week and he says that you are the brains behind this murder"
Chinta looked angry and shouted - "Sir, I did not murder him. We only wanted to steal his money. I promise that we lost him on that night and didn't see him after"
Shiva looked calmly at Chinta - "A life term in prison for you and 6 months for Brahma, the approver."
Chinta broke down and started crying - "Sir I wanted money for my daughter's school fee. "
Shiva took his file, "You have 30 minutes. If you confess fully, we will see to it that you get a reduced sentence" and walked out.
As they were entering Room no 345
Naid looked puzzled at shiva, "Why do Chinta murder him and still leave the money at the murder scene?"
Shiva nodded, "Lets speak to our bankrupt millionaire first."
Ravikumar was very calm and was patiently waiting.
Shiva sat down, "Sir. Sorry for keeping you waiting. I see your lawyer has not arrived yet. Do we wait for him?"
Ravi smiled, "No, we can continue. My lawyer resigned after I became bankrupt."
Shiva looked at Naidu in agreement and Naidu started ,"Sir Did you meet Mangal at the night of the murder?"
"Yes I spoke to him on that night when he had come to my restaurant."
"Did he come to your restaurant or did you invite him?"
"Hmmm, what do you mean, I do invite everyone in Hyderabad to my restaurant to eat and then pay for it"
Shiva took the phone out of his pocket and started playing the recording of Ravikumar's conversation with Mangal.
Ravikumar was calm throughout and at the end,"Is that Mangal's phone I gave you the last time we met?"
Shiva nodded.
Ravikumar continued,"Mangal left that phone in my Hotel. I should have just left it there…."
After a brief silence," I agree I gave him 12 lakhs. But why do I kill him. I am bankrupt because of his murder."
Shiva, "Thats what I don't know sir. May be you should complete your story and then we can all go home."
Ravikumar stood up,"Do you have any evidence that I killed him?".
Without waiting for their answer, he started walking towards the door.
Naidu interrupted him to say,"May be we don't have any evidence or may be we have. But our anti corruption unit wants to talk to you."
_______________________________________
Mangal saw the auto in its full glory. It was well decorated and a latest song "Gulabi"was playing loudly from the stereo system. It was raining slightly with dark clouds everywhere.
Chinta walked out and smiled at Mangal and stuttered , "Mangal sir … Ravikumar sir"
Once Mangal sat in the auto, the auto started slowly and steadily moving down the street.
"Sir how was the food?"
"Good"
"Sir, Bahula is the best restaurant. Ravikumar sir, best person."
Mangal smiled "Yes"
Ravikumar saw Mangal's phone lying at the table. He ran towards the door and shouted "Mangal". But the auto had already crossed two streets. It was almost closing hours and he decided to return the phone. He knew the path the auto drivers took for Prasad nagar.
Throughout the journey, Chinta kept on talking to Mangal. He knew he had to call Brahma.
"Sir, one important call"
Chinta picked up his phone and
"Baby, I am coming home in 15 minutes. I love you" and ended the call.
Mangal laughed, "So how long you have been married?"
Chinta,"For a long time. Sir, Don't you ever get married. Try Live in relationship or Girl friend."
They both laughed.
Mangal felt relaxed that he can treat his mother now and he can finally marry Vijetha.
The auto slowly came to a halt at Chinmaya nagar. It was completely dark as the power in that street had been switched off.
Chinta ,"Sir give me 2 minutes. There seem to be a problem with the Engine."
Mangal just looked at the bag of cash and held it tightly with both his hands. It started to rain heavily and the rain drops started falling on him and the cash bag. Mangal can hardly see anything and suddenly he saw a dark hand stretch towards his neck. Mangal was taken back but held to his bag. The hand ripped his Golden chain and a heavy figure started running away.
Mangal shouted - "Driver, my chain."
Chinta looked at him and then the dark man in heavy rain. Mangal didn't want to get out of the auto. Mangal sat there without knowing whether to go after the dark man or hold on to his bag. Chinta looked awkwardly at Mangal and started running slowly towards the dark man. He knew that to be Brahma.
As Ravikumar entered Chinmaya nagar, he saw Chinta running. He was driving fast and he couldn't believe his eyes. As he parked, He saw Mangal running past him. Ravikumar quickly embarked from the car and started walking fast towards Mangal. His old and tired legs were not helping. As he walked along, he couldn't see any one. He glanced at Mangal's phone.
Chinta ran almost 500 metres. He couldn't see Mangal following him. He expected Mangal will chase Brahma along with him and then they can threaten him in some corner. Now,he could see only Brahma waiting for him in the street corner.
_______________________________________
Assistant Commissioner's office was busy. The Clerk looked tired and told Shiva that the Commissioner was waiting for them.
Assistant Commissioner read the report very quickly, "So you have a burglar and corrupt businessman and a dead body. You are working on this for almost a month now."
Shiva - "Sir, we have recovered the bribe money of 12 lakhs and the anti corruption unit is following it up. We have also arrested Brahma, who is wanted in many street burglary. Sir I think we need some more time "
The AC interrupted, "Shiva, You know very well, we cannot continue like this. The dead Bank manager is related to Kashinath. And you have arrested Ravikumar without any evidence."
Shiva kept quiet.
"In your report, you have clearly stated that neither of the suspects have any motive for murder. You are going nowhere. What is this SSA? I have assigned Inspector Sripriya to help you on this case. "
Shiva - "Sir, I need a week's time"
"That you can talk to Sripriya now. Don't underestimate her. I will see you in a week."
Shiva left with a sense of inability. He looked the Clerk.
"So Who is this Inspector Sripriya"
"Sir, She is related to the AC. She gets all high profile cases"
They both laughed. The Clerks personal computer crashed suddenly and the lights started bickering.
"There is a power spike again. This useless SSA said he fixed it."
Shiva was looking at the bickering lights. It took couple of minutes for him to process the Clerk's words.
"Did you say SSA? What does it mean?"
"I don't know Shiva. He is just above Electrician. He came here twice to fix the power surge."
Shiva hugged the Clerk who was visibly surprised . He took his mobile out and called Naidu.
"Case solve, the Government killed Mangal"
_______________________________________
Shiva and Naidu were standing among a crowd of reporters. Inspector Sripriya was addressing the press conference.
Reporter 1, "So is the government compensating for Mangal's death."
Sripriya -"Yes the Andra pradesh Electricity board has decide d to pay Mangal's family 12 lakhs rupees from their insurance funds"
Reporter 2, "What is the reason for the accident?"
Sripriya - "Due to negligence, a electrician has left a claw hammer in a pole lamp's storage. Due to rain, it accidently fell on Mangal who was passing by."
Reporter 3, "What was Mangal doing there?"
Sripriya - "He was travelling home after having dinner"
Reporter 4, "Why has Ravikumar been arrested? Is there any relation?"
Sripriya- "Sorry, I cannot talk about other ongoing investigations."
Shiva and Naidu started walking out and Naidu moaned
"We do all the work and this woman takes all the credit."
Shiva smiled,"The clerk solved this case. Come on Naidu, how about a drink."
_______________________________________
