It’s been 3 weeks…… the Police still was struggling with Mrs Mishra’s murder case. While they filed a chargesheet on Rahul for stealing money and forgery in the court, they had to release Mr. Mishra due to absence of evidence. The Court proceedings went on for few months. At the end, the Judge sentenced Rahul for 3 years in jail on forgery charges. And they gave an earful to the Police on failing to get evidences on the murder.
Mukund was sitting in his courtyard when Anand came to see him. He saw that Mishra uncle was sitting quietly holding a piece of cloth which looked like a dupatta. Anand stopped at the gate and felt bad for Mishra uncle. All of a sudden, his friend Tiger started barking and running around. Anand looked at him and was wondering as to why was he barking so loud……he started thinking if Mishra uncle killed his wife and may be Tiger is barking at him. He told Tiger, “Stop it Tiger…. Mishra uncle hasn’t killed his wife. Police has also given him a clean chit”. He took a pause and continued, “Earlier, you barked at Rahul, but we all know he is not the killer”. But, Tiger continued barking and running around.
Anand tried to take him away, but he didn’t stop. Anand started following Tiger. Tiger again went to Rahul’s house. Anand said, “I know you want to say that you saw Rahul. But, he went to plant money in Mishra uncle’s house. He didn’t kill Mishra aunty“. Anand, feeling helpless…. started walking towards his house.
He was feeling restless….. he was still wondering as to why Tiger is redirecting him to Rahul’s house. He was feeling guilty that he had to lie to Rahul’s Mom to get an entry into Rahul’s room for investigation….. “What !!!“, he exclaimed and turned into a stone. “How did I miss this“, he asked himself. He immediately called the Inspector and said, “Sir, Rahul’s mom has killed Mrs Mishra“. The Inspector asked, “What? Are you okay Anand. Why are you so excited and suddenly where did you get this idea that Rahul’s Mom killed Mrs Mishra?“.
Anand took a deep breath said, “Sir, I missed it at the first instance. Tiger wasn’t barking at Rahul, he was actually barking at his Mom. Remember I went to his house and went to his room?“. “Yes , I remember. You told me“, said the Inspector. Anand continued, “His mom was in the kitchen and she was cleaning a piece of cloth. I saw that same piece of cloth in Mishra uncle’s hand today. You should search Rahul’s kitchen, you should find the weapon there“. The Inspector replied, “Okay, I will look into it. You take care“.
“Let’s go to the jail“, said the Inspector to his Constable. They reached the jail and met Rahul. The Inspector with full confidence said, “We found the real killer of Mrs Mishra. Why did you hide it from us? You knew that it was your Mother“. Rahul in a shock, kept quiet. The Inspector repeated his question with a thud on the table. Rahul broke down and cried, “Yes, its my Mom. …..Please don’t arrest her. I am ready to serve the jail term in place of my mother. I beg you to place all charges against me“.
The Inspector curiously asked, “I want you to finish the truth now, what happened that day?“. Rahul said, “My mom is sick. She gets really very angry and looses her control. Please don’t punish her, she needs medical attention“. He sobbed and replied, “That day, I went to plant money in Mishra’s house. My Mom saw me going in there. She was under the impression that Mrs. Mishra is seducing me. She was annoyed. When she saw me coming out of her house quietly, she thought that this is not right. She took her knife and went to Mishra’s house. She argued with Mrs. Mishra and in rage my Mom killed her. But soon she realized her mistake and returned home. She told me everything . I love my mother very much. I asked her to take a bath and I went back to Mishra’s house. I cleaned all the finger prints. Took the knife and dropped it in chemical tank of our factory“.
The Inspector and his Constable looked at each other with a sign of relief. But there was still one question to be answered. The Inspector asked, “Why did your Mom keep Mrs. Mishra’s dupatta?“. Rahul shouted, “I have told you that she is mentally sick. Whenever she fights and wins, she keeps the loser’s favorite thing with her. It reminds her of her victory all the time. I didn’t knew that she was hiding it. Otherwise I would have got rid of it as well“. The Inspector was surprised at this reply. Rahul begged the Inspector again, “Sir, Please don’t arrest her. I am begging you. I am ready to serve for her mistake“. The Inspector and the Constable left the chamber.
The Inspector asked the Constable to issue an arrest warrant against Rahul’s Mom. They visited Rahul’s place and arrested his Mom. They also found the murder knife and Mrs Mishra’s (scarf) dupatta. The Inspector thanked Anand for his help. Anand was really happy that his observation and his friends, especially Tiger, helped him crack his first case 🙂