Chapter 2:
"My name is Maan Singh Khurana and I am the Assistant Commissioner of Police."
"I am Geet Handa and I am Anjali's roommate."
"I am very sorry for your loss", he said motioning her to take a seat. He nodded at Satya.
"Thank you." She said. He peered at her closely.
"Is there a friend or a relative or a family where you can stay for a few days? It will take time to process the crime scene which in this case is entire flat and we would really appreciate if you can allow us to do our jobs with utmost accuracy." He sprouted the police commissioned words that required the resident's permission to seal off the area as a crime scene. Most people easily accepted given how traumatic experience would be if they lived in the house few hours after a murder had taken place.
"I can stay with a friend, yes." She replied.
"If you don't mind me ma'am, I have few questions to ask you", he asked politely.
"Please call me Geet. No, I do mind. Can't we do this interview later? I really want to get away from this place and accept the truth." Her voice was hard. He couldn't blame her.
"Geet, I wouldn't have done this if it wasn't required. We need to first know chronology of events surrounding the incident which will then allow us a starting point. Since you were at the crime scene and were perhaps the last one to enter it, your statement will have profound effect in building the case. I hope you understand this and cooperate with us." Maan said making his intention clear. She didn't answer for a moment.
"Alright then. Ask away", she said breathing out a heavy sigh.
"When did you come back from work?"
"It was around quarter to two or two in the morning. I had texted Anjali earlier in the evening saying that I was going to be late. I let myself in with my set of keys."
"Did you notice anything out of the place?"
"Like what?" She asked curiously.
"Were things out of place in living room or in kitchen? Was there a sign of struggle?"
"Once I came home, I went straight to my room and I slept. I didn't pay attention to anything else."
"What about in morning?"
"In the morning I didn't see anything out of place. Everything was in place. I went to get a glass of water in the kitchen and didn't see any sign of struggle or anything…odd…there."
"Geet, we will make an inventory of all the items in the house first and will get a signature from you. If you want you can be present when we do so."
"No, it's alright. Please do give me a copy of it. Is there anything else?" She wanted to run away from that place.
"No, there is nothing else to ask at the moment. Is there anything I can help you with?" He asked her politely. He truly felt sorry for the woman. She hesitated. He patiently waited her to continue.
"Look, can you help me in getting some stuff from my room?" Her voice was just above whisper. He exchanged a look at Satya who looked from notepad halting whatever he was writing.
"Sure Geet. I will have a lady constable take you there", he answered getting up closing preliminary interview.
"Can you please send her here? I will tell her what I need and she can bring those things to me. I am sorry if I am…" She became apologetic in the ending seeing how Maan's expression turned to one that of surprise. She wondered if she had overstepped her bounds – the one his politeness had drawn around them.
"I will send her in right way. Here is my card. Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything", he said.
"Geet, I hope you are alright by tomorrow. Please report to police station at 10 AM. I will take your official statement then." He nodded a goodbye and moved out of the apartment.
Once out, Satya called in a lady constable and briefed her about Geet's request while he went in taking in the crime scene.
The apartment was neatly maintained where each item knew its place and stayed there when not in use.
"Are you guys done here?" He asked the forensic photographer who was asked by Satya to take picture of every inch of the flat. His irritation was obvious on his face.
"I am almost done. Doctor Vic is waiting for you inside the victim's room." He replied and went back to his business.
"I need an itinerary of every item in this apartment by noon. Also, get me statements from neighbors and night watchman. Contact victim's colleagues and employer and ask them to come by station on Monday. And can someone please go easy on the Old Spice? We are at a crime scene people", he gave instructions to the Inspector in his department and yelled out the last part in general direction voicing out his obvious annoyance at the mild perfume scent. A few chuckled at his annoyance.
"Got it sir. Doctor is waiting for you in victim's room. I need your signature here sir", the Inspector handed him the forms that would release the victim's body to mortuary. He scribbled his signature and saw Satya coming in and directing her to Geet's room.
"The woman is fully shaken up sir ji. According to the neighbor she was screaming for at least fifteen minutes before she realized that they were pounding on the door. Those people made the call." Satya said walking along with Maan to the victim's room.
"Did you contact the victim's family?" Maan asked.
"Our department is trying to contact them as we speak sir ji. As per victim's roommate, her parents are visiting her older brother in New Zealand." Satya replied and opened the door to Anjali's room.
The room was brightly decorated with indie band posters and movie posters of 60's movies. Like the rest of the house, the room was incredibly well kept and showed off a unique personality of its own. He looked at the victim, Anjali, who was laying down on her back and face facing the ceiling. The body had been severely mutilated and eyes were wide open and bloodshot. There were no other visual markers on the face and neck.
Even in this room, there was no sign of a fight or anything out of place. There were shards of broken glass by the window which was currently being collected by forensic guy - David. He realized that it would have been Geet – she had a glass of water after she woke up and she probably had walked into this room with the glass and dropped it when she saw her roommate in bloodbath. He made a note of it to check and validate with Geet when he interviewed her.
"Satya, what do you see in this room?" He asked.
"It's a woman's room sir ji – pastel shades for wall, bright upholstery and a dressing mirror with quite a cosmetic and perfume collection. I see things she uses on daily basis and few are kept here as a reminder of something important in her life or things that interest her; like Dev Anand", he said pointing to a poster from the movie "Johnny Mera Naam".
"Yes. Everything is in its place, at least at the first glance nothing seems to be missing. Did you guys check her purse and wardrobe?" He asked the question to David who was sweeping floor for fabrics and hair.
"Yes sir. All her credit cards, debit cards and cash seemed to be intact. There is some jewelry in the wardrobe locker – expensive ones. We have dusted for prints there, just in case but didn't find any; apart from victim's that is." He replied and got back to his work. Maan hummed in acknowledgement.
"So whoever came in here didn't touch cash or jewelry. Nothing else seems to be stolen." Maan reiterated. Satya nodded.
"It's a clean crime scene sir ji", he said mulling over things he had seen and made note of.
"It's too clean Satya, too sterile. Someone knew what they were doing and ensured that they didn't leave any forensic evidence", he said walking towards the bed where Doctor was writing preliminary observations.
"What's the initial verdict Doc?" Maan asked Doctor Vic taking out a small notepad from his jacket front pocket and looking at the body.
"I cannot give you an exact timeline but my best guess is that she was killed somewhere between ten and twelve. And get this – she wasn't killed because of stabbing. She was probably asphyxiated." Doctor said gauging Maan's reaction. Maan and Satya exchanged glances.
"How sure are you that it's asphyxiation?" Maan asked narrowing his eyes at the victim's neck and wrists. There didn't seem to be any ligature marks there.
"Honestly, I am not. I need to run a full tox-screen and check toxicology report to rule out any poisons or illegal drugs. But the bloodshot eyes are one of the primary indicators of asphyxiation." Doctor Vic said.
"And what about stabbing? Can't at least one of them be a cause for her death if one of the major arteries is severed?" Satya asked.
"There are twenty nine stab wounds in total and look at the amount of blood because of that. The quantity of the blood doesn't add up by looking at the victim. Once I have her in my lab, I will know the exact amount which would either determine or eliminate stabbing as the cause of death. And there is also something else that caught my eye. Here, look closer", he asked Maan and Satya to look at the area which he was pointing to.
"See the skin abrasion around this wound? The discoloration happens when there is no blood supply. Though the discoloration isn't much, but it's there. This wound was inflicted definitely after her death. However there are few wounds which are lighter than the rest meaning there is a possibility that victim could have been stabbed just before her death or just after. It is impossible to differentiate the two." Doctor finished.
"And of course, her hands are very clean", Maan noted. The cleanliness in house was bugging him. Apart from the blood on Anjali's comforter, everywhere else was clean. Her face, her hands and lower body didn't have any blood on them. May be Vic was right about postmortem stabbing.
"Or maybe she did get blood on her hands and other parts of the body and the killer wiped it clean off her hands after the task was completed?" Satya countered Maan.
"David, collect the contents of every trashcan in the house and make a list of items you find there. Do not dispose anything", Maan said little distractedly. There was a possibility about what Satya said.
"Any defensive wounds Doctor?" Satya asked. Doctor shook his head.
"None. Even her long nails seems to be in intact condition", Doctor said. The three men looked at Anjali who lay on her bed oblivious to everything happened around her. Her life had been brought to a sudden halt which simply wasn't fair.
"Why didn't she fight with her killer?" Maan asked out of the blue staring at the two men. Vic shrugged and Satya looked thoughtful.
"Bag her Doc. And please, I need an autopsy report before 10 tomorrow morning."
"Maan…I don't know if that's possible. I have still have backlogs left…"
"I want that report before I interview Geet. Make it possible Doc", Maan left the room having said that.
"He does know that he isn't my boss right? Right?" Vic asked Satya giving him a helpless look. Satya only grinned and clapped on Vic's shoulder.
Vic sighed. It was going to be a very long weekend.
To be continued.
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