Chapter 1
This novel has been written by Sankar Biswas . It is an original work and has not been published anywhere. It has 17513 words. It is in the genre of suspense, thriller, mystery.
*********
MUDER IN THE NEW MOON NIGHT by Sankar Biswas
CHAPTER 1
Suraj got transferred to Mumbai from Delhi office by his Company, Life Insurance Corporation of India, in the month of October. He was an employee of the Civil Engineering division which constructed the buildings for LIC all over India. There was an urgency in the transfer, as a new project for constructing an office colony was coming up in Mumbai. The office needed several experienced hands to take part in this project and urged him to join the Mumbai office quickly.
His son’s final school leaving examination was to be held after six months in April next year. So, his son had to stay back with his wife in Delhi. Past four years of stay in Delhi made them quite familiar with the locality. They felt, managing their stay without Suraj would not be a problem.
***********
Suraj shifted to Mumbai with both apprehension and expectation – apprehension of adjusting to a new work environment and expectation of working in a new project.
As per his choice, LIC gave him a large quarter in a colony outside Mumbai, away from his office at Nariman Point, at the farthest tip of Mumbai in the South, a distance of around forty-kilometre or slightly more from his quarter.
But he was lucky in another respect. The railway station at his location was directly connected to Mumbai Victoria Terminus railway station by the Harbour Train line. A direct train would take him from his station to VT in under one hour and fifteen minutes. His office was quite close to VT station. Being that far from the main city, it was not difficult for Suraj to find an empty seat in the train while going to the office, a luxury within Mumbai city limits.
Suraj’s colony was around fifteen minutes of walk from the railway station.
Normally Suraj would walk that distance leisurely while coming back from office along a properly lit road through the Market Complex lined with rows of shops. After that complex, a five minutes’ walk along the road, one side of which had small private housing complexes and the other side was dark.
Then he would reach a ninety degree turn in the road. This area, a walk of around three-four minutes, was somewhat lonesome. This road went through an area covered by thick bushes on both sides. It was said, the thieves and the drunkards would assemble there to drink or the drug addicts would take drugs hiding behind the bushes.
There were street lamps along the road, but only a few functioned. In a few lamps, so much of dead insects got collected that they hardly provided any light and created patches of semi-darkness around the light post. People did not feel safe while walking along this stretch and avoided it late at night.
By any chance if Suraj was late in coming from office, he would take an auto rickshaw to go to his colony.
Close to this stretch, there was a small bridge over a canal, through which dirty water of that area flew. Beyond the bridge, after another hundred feet of distance, several private housing complexes started and the road was properly lit again. The guards of those complexes could be seen moving about or standing near the gate and one would feel safe once more, even if walking alone.
********
Two more colleagues of Suraj also got transferred to the Head office in his division, not from Delhi, but from other cities. But they were of comparable age and a nice bonding developed among these three, all three having similar status - away from family. All were waiting for the schooling session to be over by April, to bring their families to Mumbai.
One of them managed to get a LIC quarter, a smaller house, inside the city itself. The other person decided to rent a house on his own close to the Dadar Railway station. It would be just fifteen-twenty minutes journey from Dadar to VT station by train or by bus. That was a great relief, as in every rainy season Mumbai train service would get disrupted because of flooding of the railway track for at least two–three days and returning to LIC colony on Harbour line would become a hilarious task. But Suraj wanted a large accommodation for his family. Though aware of all the troubles associated with staying away from the main city, he decided to be in that distant location.
************
These three friends wanted to explore the city by moving around together. They had come to Mumbai on office work earlier also, but none stayed for a prolonged period. To them, Mumbai city held many surprises – the tourist attractions, the famous restaurants, the art galleries, the churches, the list was almost endless.
But they decided, before everything else, they would celebrate their transfer to Mumbai. They looked for a good restaurant. Someone suggested, they go to a Cafe in Colaba area, which was within walking distance of the iconic structure of Mumbai, Gateway of India. This café was established in the late nineteenth century by an Iranian gentleman who settled in India. Its bakery items were very famous. But more than that, it became famous for a wrong reason – for the terrorist attack.
This cafe was frequented by many foreign nationals. Several years back, two terrorists walked in, stood inside the café and talked as if they were customers. In an opportune moment they threw grenades at people sitting inside which killed three young persons. On their way out they gunned down more. This incident made the Café’s name reach far and wide. People read about this incident in the Newspaper, saw it on TV and heard about it on the Radio.
Many people who later visited Mumbai, wanted to see the Café. They went back to their friends and declared, they ate in a restaurant which bore the marks of a terrorist attack, still had the bullet holes on the window glass panes. What a unique experience!
***********
Suraj and his friends decided to go on a Saturday. As, even if they reached home late, they would have the Sunday to sleep for a longer period. But on Saturday, Suraj’s Boss called for a meeting in the afternoon that got completed very late in the evening.
They took a taxi to Gateway of India and stopped there to enjoy the live atmosphere around. The photographers immediately started nagging them to take photographs with the Gateway structure, the Bhelpuri Wala called them to buy some food. They shook off all and sat on the rampart beside the Gateway to enjoy the fury of the breaking waves. Fine droplets of sea water soaked their dress. Furious wind howled and tried to dislodge them from the rampart.
That was a unique experience for them. In most seas the waves broke on the sand beach stretched far and wide. But here the sea was suddenly cut off, there was no beach, so the waves fell on the barriers made around the sea with full force. Getting drenched in the sea water was kind of fun for the young and they would laugh each time they got hit by the water spray as the wave struck the rampart, at the amusement of other on-lookers.
After passing some time, Suraj and his friends decided to walk to the Café as it was within a walkable distance.
Reaching the Café, they were surprised to find a huge crowd waiting outside. Some twenty-five people, both male and female with a sprinkle of children, stood on the footpath almost pressed to each other. Possibly Saturday, the weekend, was a wrong day to come to this cafe. There were two bouncers guarding the entrance, who allowed people to enter only when a few came out. There was no queue, so whoever could push through, could get in early. Suraj and his friends also stood among the crowd and waited. The wait was getting longer and they became impatient. But they would not be coming again in a short while in this area, so they stuck to the task of waiting.
Finally, after around half an hour they could get in. What they saw surprised them more. This Café possibly had enough space inside in the early days of its establishment. As its fame rose, so also rose the number of customers. More tables were added and now there was hardly any space to walk around. They were given quite a small table to sit, the old heavy Mahogany-wood made table with ornate finish and similar chairs to go with it. It created a nostalgia of the old time.
With too many customers but a limited number of waiters serving them, the time needed to get the ordered food became longer.
When they came out of the cafe, it was pretty late in the night, almost 11 O’clock. They took a taxi and went to VT station. Suraj’s friends were not that bothered, they lived close by. But Suraj had to go far. Unfortunately, due to some reason a Harbour line train, which was supposed to leave at that time, was cancelled. That increased his worry, a walk on the semi-dark road was something he wanted to avoid.
“Do not worry, take an Auto-rickshaw while going to the colony. This is Mumbai, not Delhi, a far safe city” his friends assured him.
***********
When Suraj got down from the train, it had already crossed 1 O’clock. He came out of the railway station and walked to the Auto stand, but found not a single auto there. Normally there would be several Autos waiting. Of course, he never came this late.
“When troubles come, they come not alone but in batches” Suraj thought with worry in his heart.
He waited impatiently for some more time near the Auto stand, expecting one to turn up, but none came. He felt scared to walk till the colony in the dark. In the evening with so many people around, walking home was easy. But walking in the dead of night alone, seemed to be an uphill task. Could he pass the night on the platform itself, sleeping on its bench?
But it was only fifteen minutes of walk. If he showed the courage to walk that distance, he would have the comfort of his bed!
Suraj decided to take the risk. He kept most of the money and the debit cards inside his socks, keeping a few hundred rupees in the wallet, fearing an attempt of robbery. The robbers should not go back empty handed, which might encourage them to assault him.
He walked towards the market area. In that late hour, all shops were closed and the whole area had a deserted look. With no light coming from the shops, the area was semi-dark. There were torn paper pieces or plastic packets strewn around. A heap of garbage was kept at one place that would be cleared in the morning. He found a few stray dogs sitting by the road side. Two of them raised their heads and looked at him suspiciously. But normally they barked at people who looked ugly in tattered cloth or at half clothed people, not at well-dressed persons. A dog barked a few times not very confidently and when it could not garner much support, it stopped. Suraj was afraid whether the dogs would run after him, but they refrained from doing it. Possibly they were quite tired after the whole day’s running and barking.
He crossed the Market area and entered the private complex area. The gates of those buildings were closed by that time and no gate keeper could be seen. Some of them possibly were sleeping or resting inside the room. The gate had been kept locked at this hour, which gave the gatekeepers confidence to leave it unattended.
Suraj saw a few beggars sitting at the side of the road, smoking. Was it cannabis? He wondered. As he crossed them, they also looked suspiciously towards Suraj. They were not used to seeing people walking at this hour all alone. Suraj was afraid, if two of them decided to rob him, he would not be able to stop them. But he continued walking and found that those people also did not move from their place.
