WU: Rishikesh Mein Apradh - I (31st May, 2013)

Scene 1 ' Foreword

On the banks of the holy river, ACP sir briefly explains the importance of mother Ganga and requests the audience to prevent her from being polluted.

Scene 2 ' Rishikesh (Uttarakhand)

The scene switches to a panoramic view of the grand vista of the Ganga in Rishikesh, where we see several people rafting across the strong currents of the river. The action slowly switches to a forest on the banks, where we see a hot pursuit underway ' Abhi-Daya are running after two criminals, firing after them. One of them runs deeper into the forest, while the other reroutes towards the river; the cops go after the latter. The guy runs out to the edge of the Ganga, grabs a lifejacket off the ground and starts yelling for help.

One of the rafts mistakenly thinks that he's genuinely in trouble and pulls ashore to help him onboard. Abhi-Daya arrive and call for the boat to stop, but the thug presses the rafters to keep going. The cops board a second raft and go after him. Abhijeet calls out to the rafters and informs them that they're from the CID, but the thug draws a knife and threatens them to keep going. He starts roughing up the rafters and tries to force the cops to lower their guns. The chase reaches a turbulent section of the river, where the powerful waves turn over the first raft. Most of the rafters manage to cling on, but the thug tries to swim away until Abhijeet sir swims after and captures him.

Scene 3 ' The River

Daya sir and ACP sir are seen taking back the captured thug in a motorboat, and sharply ask him where three certain missing persons are. Following some not-so-gentle interrogation, the guy agrees to co-operate. Daya sir says that he must help them catch his escaped accomplice (who he names as Chandan) by that evening. ACP sir furiously says that the families of the three men who had gone missing after coming to Rishikesh from Mumbai are extremely worried.

*Flashback Begins: Two Days Earlier*

Scene 4 ' The CID Bureau

Cue flashback. In the CID Bureau, Freddy is seen displaying some dancing moves to Sachin, until ACP sir arrives and starts watching him as well. It ain't hard to guess what happens next, right amigos? Shortly afterwards, the parents of a missing young man enter and request ACP sir to find their son Kunal, providing him with a photo of the same. ACP sir reassures them and requests for more details. They reveal that Kunal had went to Rishikesh 3 days ago, and had last called them at 11:00 AM the previous day before going for river-rafting, and vanished after that. Sachin remarks that there are plenty of boats rafting across the river every day, and they're all too large to go missing. The mother says that Kunal had gone alone to Rishikesh, and he didn't reach his hotel after the raft went missing either.

At this point, a lady arrives and requests them to help find her husband. She informs them that he went missing after visiting Rishikesh, and adds that he had went for river-rafting at 11:00 AM. Everyone is obviously surprised about this peculiar coincidence. ACP sir shows her Kunal's photo, but she doesn't recognize him. Soon, another girl turns up crying that her brother has gone missing from Rishikesh. She, too, confirms that he had gone for river-rafting at 11:00 AM the previous day. She doesn't recognize Kunal either. ACP sir asks the ladies for photos of their missing husband and brother, and remarks how uncanny this situation of three apparent strangers going missing under the same circumstances is.

Scene 5 ' Laxman Jhulla (Rishikesh)

Daya sir, Purvi, Vineet, Nikhil and Pankaj are seen crossing the enormous bridge, accompanied by a local sub-inspector named Pavan who explains that the news of a raft going missing is the hot talk in town. He confirms that the three men are missing, and adds that the raft owner is very upset about the incident and filed a report in their station. Vineet remarks that a raft generally carries an average of 7-8 people, but Pavan informs him that the three men wanted the entire raft to themselves for the night. Daya sir says that they could've possibly stolen the raft as well. They arrive at the raft booking office, where the owner Rajendra is having some purification ritual conducted. He meets the CID and asks if his raft and the missing men have been found, which Pavan obviously answers no. Rajendra informs them that the three men had come together to book the raft and clearly seemed to know each other. Nikhil remarks that their families had told them the complete opposite. Purvi asks which of them booked the raft; Rajendra says that it was a fourth guy named Tantera, who was the one who actually brought the three men there.

(Flashback)

Tantera arrives at the office with the three men. He asks them to wait outside and enters it. He greets Rajendra, introduces himself and the other three as his friends, and says that they wish to go rafting in the Ganges. Rajendra hands him a register and asks him to list their names, phone numbers and place where they're staying. Tantera asks if it's compulsory, and then proceeds to do it, shooting shifty glances at Rajendra and the three men.

(Flashback ends)

Pavan angrily says that they'd have captured Tantera long ago if he'd told them this earlier. Rajendra hands the register to them. Daya sir checks it and sees that Tantera had apparently been staying at one Shankar Palace Hotel. As they prepare to leave, Pankaj notices one of the rafts there and remarks that concealing it would be one hell of a job, which would require deflating and folding it up. Daya sir says that concealing those three men is even more incredible.

Scene 6 ' A Riverbank

We see a group of youngsters playing volleyball on one of the banks of the Ganges. Eventually, the ball accidentally lands in the river and the youngsters notice a vacant raft drifting along the current. One of them, Rakesh, dons a lifejacket and swims up to it, despite his friends calling him to stop. Once aboard, he notices the corpse of a man tucked into a corner of the raft and screams. The raft begins to be swept away by the increasingly turbulent current, but Rakesh's friends fetch a rope and throw it to him. Together, they pull the raft onshore. A terrified Rakesh dismounts, and the man's body is pulled out of the raft.

Scene 7 ' Shankar Palace Hotel

Daya sir, Purvi, Pankaj and Pavan arrive at the aforementioned hotel and enquire about Tantera, briefly informing the staff about his notorious deeds. The staff says that Tantera fled two days ago, without paying and even leaving his belongings behind. Purvi notes that the three men went missing two days ago as well, implying that he had something really nasty up his sleeve. Daya sir asks the manager to show them Tantera's possessions. Pavan receives a call informing him that the missing raft has been found flowing downstream, and about the corpse in it. Daya sir asks Pankaj to call Dr. Salunkhe at once to examine the raft. Pavan leaves for it as well. Daya sir and Purvi visit Tantera's room and check his stuff. Daya sir finds several wigs stuffed into the first suitcase, while Purvi finds a sachet of drugs and Tantera's passport in the second one. Pankaj tries on one of the wigs and starts screaming at the sight of his own appearance in the mirror. Daya sir scolds him.

Scene 8 ' Riverside Bank

Daya sir and the others are seen examining the dead body found in the unmanned raft. Daya sir notes that the body seems completely unmarked, but there are streaks of dirt present upon the sandals. Dr. Salunkhe arrives and concurs that the dirt indicates that the victim must've moved through some muddy area. They remove the corpse's lifejacket and turn it over; there's a bullet wound seen on the backside. Daya sir says that the guy could've boarded the raft after being shot to escape, and worn the lifejacket lying there. They find a second bullet wound on his lower leg. Dr. Salunkhe points out that his hands seem to have been grazed upon rock when he fell.

Rajendra and the victim's mother arrive in another raft; the latter grieves her son's untimely demise and rounds on Rajendra, saying that the son worked for him and he's responsible for his death. Daya sir informs Rajendra that this incident has made the situation and his role in it even graver. Dr. Salunkhe searches the raft and finds two bullet shells in it as well. Daya remarks that the victim was apparently shot in the forest. Dr. Salunkhe construes that either two people had been shot in the raft, or one person had been shot twice. He says that the bodies must've been dumped into the Ganges, and they might have drifted downstream towards Rishikesh.

Scene 9 ' The Ganges

ACP sir, Daya sir, Purvi and Pankaj are seen in a boat on the Ganges. Purvi shows ACP sir a list of people the three missing men had called, which shows that they had talked to each other at least 7-8 times, clearly indicating that they knew each other well. ACP sir remarks that they stayed at different hotels in Rishikesh despite this, before going on that fatal one-way trip to river-rafting. Pankaj says that according to the managers of each of the three hotels the men had stayed in, they had been asking questions about the Tera Manzil temple, one famous for having a unique deity at each manzil. Reportedly, the three had reached the temple but never entered it. They have a panoramic view of the temple from the river.

Scene 10 ' Tera Manzil Temple

Daya sir tells Pavan to find the man he'd questioned earlier, and instructs Vineet and Nikhil to enquire about Tantera and the men at individual shops in the vicinity, while he and Purvi do the same. Eventually Pavan manages to find the man named Ramu, who looks after temple visitors' shoes outside. Ramu says that the three men never entered the temple, and went on to stand at different positions nearby. He shows them their individual positions, and adds that they seemed to be looking in the same direction as well. He recognizes Tantera as a frequent visitor to the temple, and one who sometimes dresses up as a sadhu as well. (Whohoa! Hats off to this gentleman's memory power, huh. ) Soon enough, Tantera turns up in his pseudo-saintly attire, and bolts like a colt upon spotting the CID. There's a lengthy chase sequence, at the end of which he's finally captured. Daya sir hands him a jaw-shattering slap.

Scene 11 ' A Room

Tantera is being interrogated by our trio and Purvi, and apparently scared so badly out of his wits that he gets an irresistible urge to crawl under the bed every five seconds or so, necessitating Abhijeet sir to drag him back out (with an amusing tactic the second time). He initially refuses to recognize the three men, but after getting a veiled threat of another round of Daya sir's not-so-gentle questioning, admits that he'd been suffering from withdrawal symptoms of not getting his drug fix. Some guy approached him and offered him drugs in return for sending the three men off in the raft as instructed. He did that as told.

(Flashback)

The thug from the first scene and his accomplice are seen lying in wait on the banks of the Ganges, hidden behind rocks as the raft bearing the three men appears on the river. They ambush it and force the men to heave it ashore, before roughly leading them into the forest. Tantera eagerly slides up behind them; one of the thugs hands him the promised cash and warns him to keep his mouth shut. Tantera runs off gleefully.

(Flashback ends)

Tantera says that he didn't bother to find out about the thugs' identities, as long as he got his money. Abhijeet sir warns him that the rafter has been found dead, and he'll be in deep trouble if any of the three men are harmed. Tantera is shocked to hear this and starts pleading for pardon, saying that his addiction blinded him to what he was doing. ACP sir furiously asks him for the location of the thugs' hideout in the forest.

Scene 12 ' The Riverside Forest

Abhijeet sir and Daya sir venture into the forest. Guns drawn, they meticulously follow the trail and eventually find a makeshift cookout in the depths of the wood. They explore further and find a tent in the vicinity. They breach it cautiously, only to find the bloodied corpses of the three men lying inside, each of them bearing fatal gunshot wounds. They sadly behold the ghastly sight.

END OF PART I