Chapter 3
Apart from the usual flashy red bulbs rotating to spread the air of danger and fear across everyone, the ambulances at the Yeshwantraj Hospital were accompanied by few blue bulbed police SUVs this time.
Vedant was ushered straight to the crime scene on the third floor. The floor was sealed and the patients were moved to another floor. Uniformed police swarmed the floor, few on phone calls and few talking to each other. Their body language immediately stiffened looking at the Head of Special Branch walking towards the crime scene.
The room dazzled with the pure white walls adding to the brightness. The only odd colour in the otherwise white room was the huge scalene stain of dark red on the lonely bed dripping down on either sides of the floor. Rafi lay among the blood, motionless, with his head tilted to his right. An IV was injected on the back of his left palm which journeyed to a bag of liquid hanging from a white steel stand. The left side of the body displayed most of the blood indicating the point of impact. His face was colourless and his mouth was opened slightly to let a line of blood seep out. Vedant walked over to the window from where the shot was fired. He peeped out to look at the bushes and the wastes which filled the vast empty space. A small troop of men dotted the area. A man lay sprawled on the ground with a forensic officer examining him. With a sad shake of his head at the sad end of lives, Vedant turned to look at the body in the room, on the bed. Death changed a man from being called a human to a mere body.
Several forensic officers were working on different corners of the room, picking up evidence of any kind. Vedant observed the lifeless body of Rafi and then looked closely at the woman examining the body. That was when he realised it was Dr Shakti. He didn't expect her to come in at such an early time.
Good morning, Ved,' wished Shakti, without taking her eyes off the body but realising Vedant had finally realised her presence.
Sorry. Didn't realise you were here,' admitted Vedant, a little embarrassed.
Dr Shakti didn't waste any time in formal pleasantries. One- she didn't have the time and two she wasn't interested.
Two shots- one to the head and one to the heart. Dead instantly,' informed Shakti. According to the on-call doctor, Rafi had sustained head injuries, a fractured right leg and few broken ribs from the accident. He regained consciousness and had asked specifically for Shlok.'
The doctor said this?'
Yes,' replied Shakti, slightly irritated. He also said he had informed this to the police.'
What about the murder weapon?'
0.38 calibre gun. The team on the ground has it with them. I don't think there is anything more to tell here. Everything is pretty straight forward. This guy, Rafi- was shot by the dead man lying down there,' said Shakti pointing the window. That man down there was shot by the security guards of Karmarkar. You have got your guy. What else do you want to know?'
Do what has to be done,' said Vedant, a little sternly. The case is pretty straight forward, like you said. That's the reason I am not satisfied.'
Shakti waved her hand to her people who immediately got down to packing the once human being.
Anything else from the crime scene?' asked Vedant
My boys are scanning every inch of this place wondering what they were looking for,' replied Shakti. She was clearly unhappy with the task. There was nothing for her or her team to work on. The case didn't need forensic evidence.
Vedant nodded his thanks and left the room. He completely understood Shakti's thoughts. But he can't let off forensics. It could be handy in the future. Besides, there were still many unanswered questions.
Sir! Shall we look at the other body,' asked one of the policemen stationed outside, who clearly wasn't in charge. Nervousness etched his voice.
Another body?' asked Vedant, not comprehending immediately
Yes Sir. The man who killed Rafi? He fell off the building and died instantly.'
Oh yes,' said Vedant, the matter dawning. You in-charge?' he asked following the policeman.
No Sir. Inspector Anubhav Sinha is in-charge. He said he is going to meet the Commissioner and I should assist you in every way possible.' There was pride in the voice.
Vedant expected the police in-charge to be present at the crime scene. It was protocol. Anubhav Sinha going to meet the Commissioner at nearly 4 am in the morning made no sense. Actually, it made complete sense. It was clear that he had not gone to meet the Commissioner but had gone somewhere else. Either he was meeting someone, or was avoiding Vedant.
The two men reached the spot on the left side of the building. A body lay twisted on the ground with blood drawing a frame around. The other set of forensic officers sat around with bended knees, looking closely for forensic recoveries.
What do we have here?' asked Vedant, bending down to the level of the body.
He has been shot in the knee,' said one of the forensic men pointing at the hole. Must have lost his balance, fell down and broke his neck. Dead.'
Vedant always wondered how the forensic men spoke out the most disgusting, most repulsive and most nasty things with so much ease and comfort. They said it like reading the headlines of a newspaper. He looked upwards to the room where Rafi must have clung and calculated how the dead man should have positioned to take the shot.
ID?'
We found this wallet and keys in his pocket,' said the young policeman. According to his driving licence- he is Jana Yadav. Age 42. Lives at Gharpat. We are yet to look into his files. And Sir, the guy who shot the shooter who shot Rafi...' paused the policeman. He realised he was blabbering in nervousness. He was asked to give the tour of the crime scene to the officer who was going to head the case, but he never expected it would be to THE Vedant Vashisht. He had heard a lot about the man and idolised him for his integrity. He was in the service for 4 years now and knew he was just in the initial stages of his career. Corruption was something which went hand in hand in the police force and somehow he kept himself away from it. He realised once he gets actively involved in one case, he was sure to face situations where he have to choose between difficult options- like his career or the truth.
Hello,' called Vedant breaking the junior officer's reverie.
Sorry Sir,' stuttered the officer.
What's your name?'
Bharat Khanna,' answered the young policeman.
Bharat. Calm down and give me the details. No need to be nervous around me,' said Vedant, doing his best to put the officer at ease.
Karmarkars' security guards- one of them shot this guy,' Bharat pointed at the body on the ground. According to them, they saw this guy pull out a gun and about to shoot. So they shot him to save their boss- Shlok Karmarkar'
Hmm. Who is in charge of Karmarkars' security? I want to meet him.'
Bharat checked his notes and said, Sam Kingston. He, along with the guy who took the shot, has gone to the police station to give their statement.'
Alright. Be with the forensic people here. I'll meet the Karmarkars. Get hold of all the CCTV footages from yesterday morning and send it to my office.' Vedant patted Bharat on the back as a sign of appreciation.
It was the worst day for Rafi and the clinging man, but the best day for Bharat.
----
It was 4 am, a time where sleep plunged deeply for many, transporting them to different kinds of world- scary, romantic, adventurous or perhaps tragic, but not for Vedant. Picking up a cup of watery coffee from the noisy coffee machine, he headed towards the ICU. The hospital staff seemed to be getting on with their work apart from the occasional halt at the corridor to whisper their gathered information about the "interesting" happenings on the third floor to their colleagues. Though a sign post was always planted on the road near the hospitals -"No sound horn", the hospital itself was a noisy market.
The floor hosting the ICU swarmed with differently coloured uniformed men, not the usual khaki. The tag above the shirt pocket flashed "Karmarkar Security". Vedant flashed his ID card to the entrance guard, who checked the particulars and let him way respectfully, to go to the ICU. Vedant walked to the two men outside the door, who seemed to be in a deep discussion.
Vedant Vashisht, Head, Special Branch. I am taking charge of this case.' he introduced himself, shaking hands with the older of the two men.
Gagan Aryan, COO, Karmarkar Industries. Also a family friend. This is Krishna Karmarkar. Shlok's nephew.'
Vedant offered his hand to Krishna. Krishna declined and looked at the policeman with intense rage.
You guys- you guys are responsible for my uncle's state. You incompetent idiots! What's the purpose of the government paying you salary? My uncle could have been dead- Right under your nose. Your lot was just outside the door and did nothing- absolutely nothing. And now you come here as if-'
That's enough, Krishna!' interrupted Gagan strongly pushing Krishna towards the room. Go inside. Go!'
The words had the right impact as Krishna glared at Vedant with disgust before going inside the room.
Sorry about that. Kids,' apologised Gagan earnestly. He is very close to his uncle.'
Gagan gave a composed smile.
Vedant returned the smile.
But that doesn't mean what he said was wrong. I completely agree with him. The police were here and yet they didn't take any step. They were completely useless. I doubt if they even had a hand in whatever happened.'
Sir, please. Calm down and tell me what exactly happened,' said Vedant. The tone was calm yet commanding. I assume you witnessed everything.'
Yes. Let me start from the beginning. Shlok was devastated with the death of his friend, Rajeev and held Rafi responsible for it. You see- Rafi was driving the truck which hit the car Rajeev was driving. Rajeev died on the spot while Rafi was admitted here in a very critical condition. I don't know why or how or who- but there was a call from this hospital to Shlok around 1 am if I am not wrong. The contents of the call are known only to him. Anyway- the watchman saw Shlok leaving the house without his security detail. He informed Sam- our security head. Sam traced the early morning call to the hospital, sent his men to confirm Shlok's arrival here, and then called me.'
You suspected something to happen?'
Shlok hasn't been himself for quite a while and with the death of Rajeev, I expected and feared that he might do something stupid- like harm Rafi. But observing the strange behaviour of Rafi's visitors...'
Rafi's visitors? His family?'
Don't know. There were two men who supposedly visited Rafi before Shlok arrived. One man stayed in the floor with the police, while other waited in the reception. I don't know what they were waiting for but as soon as Shlok entered the room, the guy in the floor made a call to the guy at the reception, who then walked to the power room and turned off the electricity. Then the shot took place. Now you have to ask yourself how the man got access to the power room and why the police in-charge allowed the other guy to stay in the floor while it was restricted for others.'
Vedant digested all the information in silence. He couldn't deny the fact that the police had undeniably been irresponsible.
I'll definitely look into this matter, Sir,' said Vedant sincerely.
Sorry to say- but I am definitely lodging a complaint against whoever was in-charge here.'
You have all right to do that, Sir. I wouldn't stop you.'
Vedant's acceptance took Gagan by surprise. This acceptance put Vedant on top of the situation. He didn't want Gagan to steer the conversation. But from what Gagan had told him, he could see what the motive behind all the happenings was.
Mr Aryan, you have told me what had happened here. But it's your statement. Your version. I can't accept it without investigating it,' said Vedant.
I understand that,' said Gagan, little confused at what the smart officer was getting at.
So for now- the only witness or perhaps the only suspect to the murder of Rafi is Mr Shlok Karmarkar, since he was the only one inside the room with the victim.'
Come on!' said Gagan, slightly agitated. You can't possibly doubt Shlok. He had nothing to do with the shooting. I was there with him and saw the man outside the window taking the shot at Rafi.'
I know,' said Vedant with a sarcastic smile. But you can't disagree that- till before Mr Karmarkar entered the room, Rafi was alive. But within minutes of him being with Rafi inside the room, the man is dead. What do you think as a police officer, I infer from this? It's clear as a whistle, Mr Aryan. All this about a man clinging outside the window, shooting Rafi from outside- it's all just a fairy tale. The truth is- Mr Karmarkar shot Rafi out of revenge and the rest was all fabricated- your plan- to cover up the crime, to save your boss!'
Gagan looked bewildered. This is ridiculous. You are just trying to frame Shlok for something he never did. I am not going to accept this insane story of yours.'
You still haven't understood, have you?' asked Vedant with a wide victorious smile.
Gagan closed his eyes, trying hard to understand. Look, all I know is- Shlok wasn't the intended target this time- It was Rafi. The man outside the window shot Rafi. Shlok had nothing to do with it. You can't accuse him of a crime based on your meaningless theory.'
Vedant shook his head. You have got it all wrong, Mr Aryan. My theory is perfectly meaningful. It's just that you haven't understood it. My theory is easy and simple- so was the plan against Mr Karmarkar. It's just lucky that the plan failed and Mr Karmarkar escaped.
I don't understand,' said Gagan, impatience creeping in.
Vedant announced clearly, Mr Karmarkar was the intended target- just that, it was not for getting murdered but for getting framed for the murder of Rafi!'
Arjun
