Chapter 2
So as a part of their plan of action, CID called a press conference. Shreya along with Acp Pradyuman, Daya and Abhijeet walked into the conference room. Shreya was moving when Acp signalled her to take the chair in the center. Shreya hesitated a bit but followed the instruction and took the seat right in the center. Acp grabbed a seat beside Shreya. Daya and Abhijeet also took their respective seats.
Acp started the conference by a general introductory speech.
A journalist put up his question. "Sir pichle 10 din ke andar city me 5 ladkiyon ka khoon ho chuka hai. Aapko nahi lagta ki alert issue karne me CID ne der kar di. Agar CID ki taraf se pehle action liya gaya hota to shayad 1-2 ladkiyon ki jaan bachai ja sakti thi. Wo serial killer abhi tak aazad ghoom raha hai. Kya ye CID ki kabiliyat par ek sawal nahi hai? Kya CID Mumbai ke sare officers so rahe hain?"
Acp Pradyuman exchanged glances with his officers and faced the journalist.
"Dekhiye hume un ladkiyon ki maut ka afsos hai. Humare officers so nahi rahe hain. Agar ye case humare paas pehle aaya hota to ab tak wo serial killer humari custody me hota. Ye case pehle local police handle kar rahi thi. Lekin humne ye conference ek dusre ko blame karne ke liye nahi bulai hai. Hume iss case me media ki help chahiye." Acp pradyuman spoke with a cool mind. He turned to Shreya. "Meet inspector Shreya. The chief investigating officer of this case."
Shreya nodded her head.
Another journalist fired his question. "Sir CID ke paas senior aur experienced officers hain phir ek junior officer ko chief investigating officer kyun banaya aapne? Wo bhi itne serious case me?"
Acp smiled, "I would like Inspector Shreya to speak to you."
Shreya exchanged a look with Acp and turned to the journalists. "You're right, this case is very serious and demands a careful consideration. Lekin, aapne shayad dhyan nahi diya. Mera naam Shreya hai. To make a better sense I would say, mera naam 'bhi' Shreya hai." She took a pause giving the journalists a moment to get a hold of the idea . She continued, "This anonymous killer is victimizing only those girls who are named as 'Shreya'. Iss khooni ki dushmani ladkiyon se nahi sirf unke naam se hai. May be he is a psycho. Use 'Shreya' naam ki ladkiyon se kya problem hai ye to wo hi batayega jab hum use arrest karenge. Jaise hi use kisi aisi ladki ke bare me pata chalta hai jiska naam 'Shreya' hai, wo bardasht nahi kar pata, pagal sa ho jata hai aur ultimately uss ladki ki jaan lekar hi use sukoon milta hai. Iss case ko lead karne ki opportunity mujhe Acp sir ne isliye di hai taki un sari Shreya naam ki ladkiyon ki jaan lene wale is serial killer ko ek Shreya naam ki ladki hi arrest kare aur use uske jurm ki saza dilaye. Main janti hu mera naam sunkar wo baukhala gaya hoga. Aur main use challenge karti hu ki kisi aur bekasoor ladki ko marne se pehle wo mujhe maar kar dikhaye. Kyunki agar usne mujhe nahi mara to ...main use maar dungi!"
Shreya spoke curling her fingers in a tight fist. The journalists started capturing her in their cameras. A ferocious determination was displaying in her large eyes.
As the conference got over Shreya grabbed the glass of water and emptied in one go. Acp glanced at her.
"Tum nervous ho Shreya?"
Shreya quickly wiped her mouth. "No sir, actually Daya sir aur Abhijeet sir ke hote huye pehli baar main itna bada operation lead karne ja rahi hu to bas thoda sa..."
"I understand Shreya!" Acp shook his head, "But you are not allowed to get nervous. Your attitude throughout the operation will decide the success or failure of this operation and we can not afford to lose you or any other girl named Shreya. Tum samajh rahi ho na main kya keh raha hu?"
Shreya breathed in and nodded. "Yes sir!"
"One more thing" Acp Pradyuman added, "Wo cid bureau me ghus kar to tum par attack nahi karega. Maybe tumhare ghar me ghusne ki koshish kare aur waha humari team hogi disguise me. Lekin hume use chance dena hoga tum par attack karne ke liye. Isliye tum jaha bhi jaogi, like bahar khana khane, shopping karne tum akeli jaogi. Wo tumhe akela samajh kar tumhara peecha karega but tum actually akeli hogi nahi. Humari team tum par door se najar rakhegi."
Shreya nodded, "Sir, mujhe humari team par bharosa hai aur aap mujh par bhi bharosa rakhiye. Bas ek baar wo mere samne aa jaye!"
"Good! Mujhe bharosa hai tum par!"Acp Pradyuman patted her shoulder.
Meanwhile Daya got a call from Nikhil.
"Han Nikhil, ...kya...good job, use bureau lekar aao!" Daya spoke and turned to Acp.
"Sir, wo Rohan ko abhi abhi police ne railway station se arrest kiya hai. Ghaziabad ki ticket li thi usne. Uska ghar hai waha. Nikhil aur Freddy use lekar aa rahe hain. Dekhte hain usse kya pata chalta hai." Daya said.
"Hmm." Acp nodded, "achhe se interrogate karna."
o-o-o
Rohan let out a loud piercing cry as Daya slapped him.
"Sir kyun maar rahe ho mujhe? Maine kuch nahi kiya hai? Mujhe kyun arrest kiya?"
"Kuch kiya nahi to, pura samaan lekar Mumbai chod kar kyun bhag raha tha?" Daya reprimanded convulsively holding his collar.
Rohan shuddered and cried. He looked at Abhijeet. "Sir aap please inhe door rakhiye mujhse. Main sab batata hu phir!"
Abhijeet asked Daya to move, "Daya, chodo use."
Daya jerked him and stepped back. "Ab bol!"
Rohan gasped. "Sir main bhag nahi raha tha. Main to apne ghar ja raha tha. Mere Dada ji ko heart attack aaya tha. Wo hospitalized hain. Bas unse milne ja raha tha lekin train me baithne se pehle hi police ne arrest kar liya aur maar maar ke dekhiye kya haal kar diya hai mera. Ab to shayad mujhe hi hospitalize karna pade."
Abhijeet sighed and looked at Nikhil, "Iska statement verify kiya?"
"Yes sir, ye sach bol raha hai. Iske bataye gaye number par humne call kiya hai. Doctor se baat hui hai. Iske Dada ji sach me hospitalized hain aur ab wo khatre se bahar hain" Nikhil told.
"Dekha sir aapne, main jhooth kyun bolunga." Rohan said crying.
"Chalo mana tum sach bol rahe ho lekin isse ye to sabit nahi hota na ki tumne Shreya khanna ka khoon nahi kiya. Humare paas witness hain jinke samne tumne use jaan se marne ki dhamki di thi." Shreya said glaring at him.
Before Rohan could respond Shreya, Daya again advanced towards him. "Dhamki kyun di thi tumne use han?" He roared.
"Sir please inhe door rakhiye na!" Rohan again requested to Abhijeet. Abhijeet asked Daya to stay away from him. Daya moved back glaring at him.
Rohan coughed and blew his nose. "Sir Shreya se bahut pyar karta tha main. Din raat gym me ghusa rehta tha." He cried looking at Daya, "Sochiye agar aap meri jegah hote aur aap Shreya se pyar karte aur use impress karne ke liye din raat ek kar dete body banane me."
Daya and Shreya looked at each other.
Abhijeet looked at Daya and teased him, "Socho Daya agar tum 'Shreya' se pyar karte..."
Shreya looked down in embarrassment. Daya looked away.
Rohan continued, "Aur itne par bhi Shreya aapse impress na hoti aur aapko ye bol kar thappad maar deti ki 'Shakal dekhi hai apni?' To aap kya karte?"
Daya looked at Shreya. She covered her mouth with her hand having a hard time controlling her laughter.
Abhijeet giggled. Daya scratched his head and glared at Rohan, "to itni si baat ke liye tu maar dega use?"
Rohan quickly shook his head, "Bilkul nahi sir, bas thoda gussa aa gaya tha. Rejection handle karna asaan nahi hota. Bas gusse me aakar dialogue bol diya tha ki agar wo meri nahi hui to kisi aur ki bhi nahi hone dunga. Maar dalunga use." He started crying again. "Lekin sir, main sach keh raha hu maine sirf dhamki di thi. Use maine nahi mara. Main 2 saal se pyar karta tha usse sir. Yakeen kariye mera please!" Rohan said beseechingly.
Abhijeet moved away along with Daya. "Yaar mujhe nahi lagta isne kuch kiya hai. Ek thappad khate hi bachho ki terah rona shuru kar diya. Ye kya khoon karega kisi ka."
"Hmm." Daya nodded, "to kya kare custody me rakhe ya jane de?"
"Chod dete hain, lekin Nikhil aur Pankaj ko bolo is par najar rakhe. Koi risk nahi le sakte! Kya pata ye jo dikh raha ho wo ho nahi." Abhijeet whispered.
Duo walked back to Rohan.
"Sir kya baate kar rahe the aap log? Main ja sakta hu na sir? Mujhe Dada ji se milne Jana hai. Main jaun sir?" Rohan asked with hopeful eyes.
Daya smirked, "ja sakte ho tum lekin sirf bureau se bahar. Khabardar jo Mumbai se bahar kadam rakhne ki bhi koshish ki to. Tumhare Dada ji abhi bilkul theek hain. Jab tak ye case solve nahi ho jata aur hum tumhe permission nahi dete bahar jane ki tum kahi nahi ja sakte samjhe. Chalo jao ab!"
Rohan nodded helplessly thinking it's better to move from there than arguing with Daya. He left uttering thanks to the officers.
Sachin and Rishi walked in and approached Duo.
"Sir wo sare murder weapons ek hi company ke hain aur humne city me pata kiya hai ki kaun si shops pe us company ke hand tools available hain." Sachin said.
"Han to kuch pata chala?" Abhijeet asked.
"Sir, pata chala bhi aur nahi bhi!" Rishi said shaking his head.
Daya and Abhijeet exchanged glances.
"Matlab?" Daya uttered.
"Sir ek shopkeeper ne bataya ki jab se ye murders shuru huye hain tab se ek aadmi uski shop pe aata hai aur dusra koi tool nahi sirf ek hand saw kharid kar le jata hai." Sachin told.
Daya, Abhijeet and Shreya all were shocked.
"What?" Shreya exclaimed. "Damn! Ye wahi killer hoga sir!"
"My god!" Abhijeet said, "To kaun hai wo aadmi? Koi photo koi identity?"
Sachin nodded in no, "Nahi sir, na koi CCTV footage mila na aur koi tasveer!"
"Are to us shopkeeper ne to use dekha hai, use bolo sketch banawane me help kare!" Daya shouted.
"Sir actually baat ye hai ki shopkeeper ne uska chehra theek se dekha nahi hai. Lambe baal, dadhi aur muchhe hain pura chehra almost cover rehta hai. Aur aankho me bhi glasses to chehra identify karna almost impossible hai." Rishi explained.
"Oh no!" Shreya said, "sir wo bahut shatir hai. I am sure wo dadhi muchh nakli hi hogi. Sirf apna real face chupane ke liye aisa kiya hoga usne."
"Hmm." Abhijeet said with a sigh. "Lekin agar use media ke through Shreya ke bare me pata chala to wo chup to baithega nahi. Shreya ko marne ke liye phir wo saw kharidne jayega. Us shopkeeper ko sath hi aas paas ke baki dusre shopkeepers ko bolo ki koi bhi matlab koi bhi agar saw kharidne aata hai to hume turant inform kare."
"Alright sir!" Rishi said and left.
o-o-o
Society, where Shreya lives.
Prabhakar (The new watchmen) saluted Mr gupta (secretary) as his car entered.
"Good evening saab!"
"Good evening Prabhakar! Aur kaisa raha duty ka dusra din?" Mr Gupta asked.
"Badhiya hi hai saab." Prabhakar said.
Mr Gupta noticed a box kept under his chair. "Ye box kaisa?"
Prabhakar looked at the box. "Wo kuch nahi saab. Wo mera toolbox hai. Day shift khatam hone ke baad part time plumber ka bhi kaam kar leta hu main. Society me kisi ko plumber ki jarurat ho to aap mujhe hi bolna."
"Achha achha theek hai. Main sab ko bata dunga ki bahar se kisi plumber ko bulane ki jegah tumhe hi bulaya kare." Mr Gupta said smiling.
"Thank you saab!" Prabhakar said obligingly.
o-o-o
Acp Pradyuman came to Shreya.
"Are you leaving Shreya?"
"Yes sir, kyun koi kaam tha!" Shreya said.
"Nahi bas yahi bolna tha ki Purvi ke sath mat jana. Akeli hi jana."
Shreya nodded, "Yes sir, I understand!"
"Purvi, Rishi, Sachin, Nikhil, Pankaj, all of you come here!" Acp Pradyuman said aloud.
Everyone gathered. "Yes sir!"
"Dekho, Shreya ghar ja rahi hai. Tum sare log apna get up change karo aur Shreya ke peeche jao. Jab tak wo ghar nahi pahuch jati. Wo khooni raste me us par attack kar sakta hai." Acp ordered.
"Lekin sir abhi tak hume nayi saw kharidne ki information nahi mili hai. Wo Shreya par attack karega kisse?" Rishi said and received a fierce look from acp.
"Hume information nahi mili iska ye matlab nahi ki uske paas weapon nahi hai aur wo attack nahi kar sakta. !"
"Sorry sir!" Rishi said lowering his head.
Shreya just shook her head.
o-o-o
Shreya left for her house secretly followed by her teammates in disguise.
Sachin as Shreya's taxi driver.
Pankaj as another taxi driver and Purvi and Nikhil as his passengers. They were following Shreya's taxi driven by Sachin.
"Bhaiya taxi rok do!" Shreya said "Yaha se main chal kar chali jaungi."
"Are kya madam. Chal kar kyun jayengi. Andhera bahut hai, rasta bhi sunsaan hai. Hum aapko chod dete hain na ghar tak." Sachin said smiling.
"Are nahi bhaiya wo actually paas me ek market hai. Mujhe market se kuch fresh sabjiyan leni hain. Aur waise bhi ghar bas thodi door par hai. Main chali jaungi. Ye lo paise!" Shreya said forwarding the money to Sachin.
"Theek hai madam, jaisi aapki marji." Sachin said looking into Shreya's eyes. They secretly talked something. She nodded and asked him to leave through her eyes.
Pankaj honked the horns from behind. "Are bhai, aage badho, baap ki road samajh rakhi hai kya. Mere passengers ko late ho raha hai."
"Abey mote chilla kyun raha hai, puri road khali hai..ja na!" Sachin shouted.
"Abey oye...mota kisko bola?" Pankaj shouted getting down his taxi.
"Tujhe bola, kya kar lega tu?" Sachin said folding his sleeves.
"Dekh tu panga mat le han...main bata raha hu theek nahi hoga!" Pankaj said warning Sachin.
"Are o taxi wale bhaiya, aap log baad me kushti lad lena. Hume late ho raha hai chalo na." Purvi said from behind. "Ek to iss taxi me itni garmi hai. Upar se aap logo ki chik chik, Baap re!" She said fanning herself with the edge of her saree.
"Garmi hai to main kya karu madam? Aapke liye AC lagawaun taxi me?" Pankaj said annoyingly.
"Bhaiya, lagwa lo to achha hi hai! Baithne walo ki duayein milegi." Purvi said teasingly.
"Duayein lene ki jegah kaha hai iske pet me?" Sachin said laughing.
"Tu phir bola?" Pankaj shouted angrily at Sachin.
"Pankaj bas kar overacting mat kar!" Nikhil murmured.
"Han han theek hai!" Pankaj said. "Dekh lunga tujhe!" He said to Sachin.
Here Shreya had moved ahead. Sachin and others were keeping an eye on her while continuing their disguise drama.
Suddenly Sachin spotted someone in black hooded jacket moving towards Shreya.
"Ek minute, ye kaun hai jo Shreya ke peeche chal raha hai?" Sachin whispered.
"Sir kahi ye wahi to nahi!" Purvi said talking on the bluetooth device.
Before they could understand anything the hoodie man suddenly pounced upon Shreya from behind and clasped her tightly in his arms.
"Oh no! Everybody move!" Sachin ordered and all rushed towards Shreya.
Shreya used her elbow for a powerful thrust and kicked him in stomach. He loosened his grip. Shreya turned and slapped him without seeing his face.
Sachin and all came and surrounded him pointing their guns on his head.
"Ouuhh..aahhh!" He was wincing in pain holding his stomach.
Sachin removed the hood revealing his face and Shreya was shocked.
"Vasu...tum?" She exclaimed with her mouth wide opened in air.
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...to be continued
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A/N: Wondering who's this Vasu now? Wait for the next and last chapter. Your guesses are good, keep guessing till next update. Investigative fics are really fun to write. :-)