MN Detects the Killer

RK called his wife from the office and told her he would be returning after office hours and would purchase a pure silk saree for her. She waited. He didn't return that night, and his mobile was switched off. She and her children were worried.

*

Rama Krishna (RK) is a government officer. He is considered a strict officer who follows the rules. His subordinates are unhappy with his strict attitude. They all want him to relax the rules in cases of their interest so they can earn money. RK is firm and never gives in to their requests.

One fine day, RK didn't show up at the office. He was regular and punctual at work. He never applied for leave. He was in perfect health. The next day, he was absent as well.

One of the office personnel found his photo in the obituary section of a local newspaper. It is mentioned that his well-wishers inserted it. There were no names.

Upon learning of his death, the higher officials appointed Krishna Kumar (KK) from the same office as the officer. He took charge on the same day and conducted a condolence meeting. All the staff spoke about the sudden death of RK and paid their respects to the departed soul, and prayed for his soul to rest in peace.

*

One of the relatives conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family members after seeing the photo in the newspaper. As the news spread, RK's friends and family started pouring into the house to console the grieving relatives and pay their respects to the departed soul. RK's wife and children were surprised; they bought the paper, confirmed the news, and filed a complaint at the police station. Police inspector Mukunda Nandan (MN) began an investigation.

MN contacted RK's office, and they said, "It was a surprise for them, and they have no idea."

*

From the following day onward, the office operated smoothly. With KK at the helm of office, their files moved without any obstacles to the rules. As a result, they and their clients were all happy, enjoying themselves, and celebrating.

*

MN sent search teams in different directions to determine whether RK was alive or dead. One team located the car after some distance. It was heading home. They tried to move, but it didn't. They called a mechanic and had the vehicle towed to the shop for repair.

 It was a taluqa headquarter. There were no CCTVs, and the police couldn't track RK's movements further. The second team went in a different direction. After about 50 km,  it was a forest area. A forest person found a hanging body in the forest after another 2 km and informed the police. They found RK's body hanging from a tree branch with a jute rope.

MN, with his team and a sniffer dog, went to the place. They searched for footprints and any material around the tree. Still, they found none, as it had rained heavily earlier that night. They discovered a spectacle under a nearby tree, among the fallen leaves. MN took the sniffer dog to the tree and the spectacle. They collected them with gloves and placed them in a plastic bag. They took photographs of the body from different angles, the tree, and the surroundings. Then, the body was taken for identification. The family members confirmed it was RK. It was taken to the nearest government hospital for a postmortem.

The dog took them to the opposite side of a shop on the road and stopped there.

It was evening, and doctors were unavailable, so the body was kept in the mortuary. The next morning, the forensic doctor conducted the postmortem.

The forensic doctor found no scratches on the body or any poison inside the abdomen. A rope mark was around the neck, tightened, causing the skin to turn black and breaking the neck bones, leading to death. The doctor also observed that the skin above the rope mark was black. He suggested that this might be due to a different material tightening the neck at that point. He reported his findings to MN.

MN thought RK did not need to go that far away for suicide; hence, the involvement of external persons was expected.

*

The body was handed over to the family members for conducting the funeral rites.

The family members told the inspector that "RK was a daring person, and was not afraid of any problem, and he would never commit suicide."

All the office staff and near and dear ones attended the funeral.
*

MN showed the spectacles to the ophthalmologist, who tested them and said that, "These were of a person whose left eye has more points than the right eye. It is possible that the left eye underwent cataract surgery."

MN posted two police constables in mufti at the office to monitor the in-and-out movements of office personnel and clients. They were to determine who had recently changed their spectacles and undergone cataract surgery.

 They found an officer who had a cataract operation recently, but it was for the right eye.

*

After about a week, a person named Gangu Bhai (GB), dressed in khadi, lalchi, and dhothi, came to the office. He was related to a political leader. All the office staff saluted him.

As he entered, he was surprised at the changes in the office. People left their seats and were talking to each other. Some went to the canteen with the clients to have tea and other refreshments. He learned from an officer that RK had died, and the officer next to him, Krishna Kumar, took charge.

He went directly into KK's office and came out smiling. He had visited once or twice during RK's tenure. 

GB is well known to KK. It was he who moved his file for a land transfer in GB's name during RK's tenure, which RK bluntly rejected. The land was in a forest area and was 100 acres in his father's name. Since his father's death, GB wanted it transferred in his name. RK objected, saying it was a fake document created in BG's father's name. GB promised payment through KK, but RK was strict, uncorrupt, and went by the rules. RK told them that it was government land; he would cancel the document in his father's name.

GB developed a grudge against RK. KK  joined GB because GB offered him a tremendous amount of money.

*

GB was vexed and considered a plan to kill RK so that KK would become the officer.

RK's car brakes failed while driving home. KK and GB were following him. They stopped and gave RK a lift. GB was driving, and KK told him he would get RK's car repaired, but left for his home without attending to the repair. GB messaged two of his followers, asking them to follow him. On the way, his followers stopped his vehicle and asked for a lift, which he promptly obliged. After a while, he took the car onto a different route, which RK objected to.

GB told RK, "He has a few minutes' work here, and he will drop RK off at home."

Meanwhile, GB's followers took a kerchief, pressed it against RK's mouth, tied his hands and legs, and one of them pressed his hands on RK's neck to make him unconscious. GB then drove the car near a forest area about 50 km away. On the way, they bought a jute rope. GB stopped the vehicle in the forest,  his followers lifted RK, who had fallen unconscious, tied the jute rope around his neck, and hanged him from a tree branch. They confirmed his death and left. GB was observing the process from under a nearby tree when his spectacles fell among the dry leaves, and he could not find them. They were in a hurry and left that place. GB dropped his followers off on the main road and went home.

*

When GB returned to the office in his Innova car after a week, people noticed he had new spectacles. The previous ones had a plastic rectangular frame, but the current ones feature a lightweight round frame. These enhanced his dignity. Office people appreciated his new spectacles. The mufti police obtained this information about GB's change of spectacles from the office attender and gathered further details about him. One of the office personnel told them he had undergone a cataract operation on his left eye.

The mufti police informed MN about GB.

MN wanted to find out where the jute rope had been purchased. He carried the jute rope in a plastic cover and visited the shop where the dog stopped. The shop owner identified it as being sold from his shop. The rope was three meters long. People usually buy 6 meters or more for home use, not just 3 meters. He mentioned that two strong personalities bought the rope. They arrived in a white Innova featuring a Cobra hood symbol, which stopped on the road opposite the shop. MN knew GB had a similar Innova vehicle. 

*

The mufti police constables stationed at GB's residence took photographs of GB's followers when they came to collect money from him for assisting in the killing and forwarded them to MN. He confirmed them from the shop owner, traced them and arrested them. He treated them at the police station, and they admitted the crime and gave the name GB, at whose insistence they did this.

MN arrested GB and asked him who had given that obituary message in the newspaper. GB said, "It was he who had given that message, as he wanted KK to take over the officer's post at an early date."

MN presented GB and his followers before the court, along with voice recordings of the shop owner, jute rope, and spectacles as evidence of GB's presence at the scene of RK's hanging.

(Note: It is an imaginary story.)