TRUE LIES-PUZZLE FROM ANANDNAG

3) TWISTS AND TURNS SPOILS THE DATE

      Thunder blew in like a hammer on to my window shields and the lightning brought temors on the floor. The unexpected rain in the late spring came down so violently that everyone took shelter inside their houses. The birds flew away and hid in their nests, the dogs were kennelled and there were no kids playing in the park outside 'Tiger's den'.
      But I couldn't stop for it, as I rushed piercing the wet drops in my combat uniform towards the headquarters office to see those weapons which were ceased by the RR battalion after Operation ADAM.
      "Sir, you're too wet. How come you didn't call for a jeep to come here?" SM saab who had displayed the weapons outside company office asked seeing my attire.
        "Saab, I shall answer to that later on . Now just tell me how many INSAS rifles we have confiscated so far from Nowshera?" I asked panting to take my next breath.
      "Sirjii, they are well armed and funded than our paltan. We could collect seventeen AK-47 rifles and thirteen AK-56 rifles from the raid conducted after that operation." He smiled at me disclosing the fact that militancy is a million dollar business in jammu and Kashmir.
       "Are you sure there were no INSAS rifles recovered, not even from those  militants?" I repeated the question hiding a new lead I got early in the morning.
        "Yes, sir. Apart from these rifles  we got a few hand grenades and a detonation bomb under construction, that's all."
       "Then let's meet the tiger immediately." I ordered him and he asked for a jeep that we need not walk back in rain to Col Tamanpreet's residence.
       "Sir, Col Ajay was shot by one of our own. I got the postmortem report from base hospital and they had recovered an INSAS bullet from his heart. A 12 size boot mark on his chest, most likely from a high ankle jungle boot." I took  a small gap for my breath amidst the disclosure though my heart was pounding to catch the real culprit.
       "Oh my goodness!! Have you shared it with anyone else? There are possibilities of injuries during cross fire but this is so demeaning.
        Firstly keep it with in three of us and bring me all those who are having that desired  size of boots, with in the paltan."  Col Tamanpreet ordered so vigorously that 5 men from the batallion were marched in before us in the next hour.
    "Jai hind sir, may I come in?" CHM Khushwant singh marched in to the tiger's office with the possible suspects and I screened them from head to toe.
      "Jai hind sir, Sep Ramesh Aravind from bravo company marching in." The first man falled out from the folk.
       "Where you there to support your paltan in operation ADAM?" Tiger asked him.
        "No sir, I was in the rear guard and couldn't actively participate in the operation." He replied.
        "You can march off."
        "Jai hind sir, LNk Amrit singh of foxtot company reporting." second suspect walked in thereafter.
        "What was your position during operation?"
        "Sir I gave cover fire for my commander while searching the sixth goat but couldn't get a kill." He replied.
        "Good job, did you enter the yellow house by any chance during operation?" I asked adding on to the interrogation.
     "No sir, I never left my position and guard."
    "Is he by any chance?" Tiger asked me across
the table as he was getting further confused.
      "Least likely sir. Foxtot company was marching in from south west direction and never approached in to the yellow house. His was quite a close shot and may be he was hit against some metallic object or wall , that the bullet remained inside his chest." I replied.
      "Ok bull, you can now march off." Tiger ordered and the second guy saluted and walked out of the room.
      "Echelon, Charlie and alpha were in near range. Anyone from them waiting outside?" I turned around to Khushwant singj and asked.
      "Yes sir all three." He smiled at me and increased my confusion.
       "Jai hind sir, Nk Amar prem of charlie company reporting sir." Next suspect marched in
       "Amar, by any chance you gave a burst fire cover to our LAMB during operation?" Tiger asked him.
      "Yes sir. I have been deployed by my commander to give cover to Ajay sir and at times I used burst fire up on my commander's order."  He replied genuinely.
      "I think it must be his bullet. So unfortunate that it had happened. Should we interrogate the rest?" Tiger asked as if he have nailed the mishap.
      "Yes, if there is anyone from headquarter company who have accompanied Col Ajay. Please march him in." I asked him.
      "Jai hind sir, Nk Armaan from head quarter company." Buddy to Col Ajay marched him next and everyone got surprised.
      "How far behind Ajay sir did you march in to the yellow house?"
      "Sir, I marched in first and Ajay sir gave me cover fire.. I then opened the room in which militant was hiding, suddenly I saw sir falling down and got panicked. Luckily Khushwant saab dived in to kill the militant, else I would have been dead." The next suspect too spoke so innocent that I sat distressed not being able to catch the culprit.
       "Jai hind sir, Shall I leave the men outside?" Khushwant singh asked the Tiger as the interrogation got over.
      "Ok you may leave" CHM with his five suspects walked out of the room leaving Tiger, myself and SM saab.
     "Doctor, you see one thing. Whatsoever happened is a mishap from one among them. You can establish an enquiry by your medical branch, but it would spoil their carriers for sure, for a mistake they had committed unknowingly.
Do you really want that to happen?" He asked straight to me and I couldn't reply as I still had my suspicions but nothing to point out the culprit.
         "The whole paltan have been appreciated by the commander and Col Ajay's name have been forwarded for gallantry awards. If this go to limelight his family would loss an opportunity to nurture his sacrifice. His parents who are the only ones left to carry on his mourning, should get a reward for giving such a warrior to this country.
     If you are against my opinion you can inform your field hospital and go on with a court of enquiry. But at the end two families are gonna suffer for an unknowingly commited mistake." Tiger's words truly touched my heart then and I decided to leave my journey behind that case.
      After two weeks my leave was sanctioned and I flew from srinagar to Bagdogra to meet Capt Shakti leaving behind those backlogs from the rashtriya rifles. I landed at the kolkata airport and took a taxi to her quarters, long way to enjoy the beauty of northeast much before our planned roadtrip to seven sisters.
       I kept my luggages in a guest room she had booked for me and walked in to her OP inside MH bagdogra hoping to meet her after so long. But she was quite busy inside her HOD's office as a court of enquiry was going on inside.
       Once she came out of the mess and we walked back in to the beautiful mess, she narrated me the reason for the fuss.
      "Maddy you might have to wait for one more day as I have got my last session tomorrow. It's all because there's suspicions behind the death of Mrs Ajay Chauhan who consumed 'ALTOK' pesticide." She broke the ice between us and started narrating her experience with her.
       "If you don't mind, what is this 'altok' and what is her real story?"
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        "Mrs Ajay was found lying unconscious in her room on may 13th by her housemaid 'Harleen' and was brought to MH Bagdogra unconscious. Her conditions were so poor and we couldn't asses the poison at the first go.
       She was intubated and shifted in to a ventillator inside ICU immediately. I did her FAST and obstretic scan as instructed by senior advisor surgery and obstetrics, as I was her first attending pbysician. She had an intra uterine death of her foetus and we became vigillant of a chance for poisoning.
        We informed her parents who arrived later on from Kolkata hearing about the mishap. Under their instructions, their house maid did a thorough search at home and bought  bottle of 'ALTOK' with her to us. As we're not so familiar about the pesticide we dialled to AIIMS poison centre to know more about it."  She looked at me narrating the opening part of her DMO duty in a morning I was preparing for our Operation ADAM.
        "Shaktii, please refine my knowledge about 'ALTOK'. What a kind of poison it was? It might be useful for my future practices."
         "ALTOK is chemically 'paraquat dichloride' a slow acting multi system poison that would kill the consumer over 72 hours. Main dilemma before us was that she had purchased the weedicide from somewhere and  consumed it  the night before. Detoxification by any methods were difficult as she had already developed high leucocytosis, deranged liver ,kidney function tests by the time she reached.
         She had a spontaneous abortion within our ICU and was sending out foamy puss per vaginally along with the conceptus. Medical specialist and obstretician decided to transfer her to command hospital kolkata to do dialysis but was far for our reach. I was send to escort the patient on ventillator along with attendants and she had been collapsing intermittently and we had to revive.
          We reached our destination at night and a quick dialysis was carried out following which her reports improoved. But still she had hematemesis early next morning followed by which she died of respiratory failure. I was with her throughout and was devastated completely with my 24 hour company." She looked at me pathetically as if she required a warm hug and consolation speech. 
         "Relax shakti, you have done your part very well and rest is up to destiny. She had  completed her lifetime along with her husband at the right time. May be their love was so deep that both reached heaven at the same time to live up on their rest journey.
         Did she ever know about the accident happened with her husband?"
       "No maddy, we even came to know about that the night I had called you. Such a tragedy should never happen to anyone." She sat on her couch and started showing the photographs on that day she faced the most pathetic patient of her life.
         Suddenly my eyes got stuck to the photo of a weak lady standing along with the parents of the deceased women and I pointed my fingers on her. "Shaktii please stop,who is she?"
          "Oh she was their maid, the one who took her to the hospital. Do you know her by any chance?"
          "Yes I know her and now I know that both Col Ajay and his wife were brutally murdered." I couldn't believe my eyes for a while and my brain started getting high of elation.
  "What?? How come you got this enlightenment
all the sudden just seeing this photograph?" She was filled with shock and looked in to my lunatic eyes with utter confusion.
    "Maddy, have you gone mad." She exclaimed.
     "I will tell you everything in detail darling but before that we may have to go for a trip to punjab." I clicked my left eyelids and walked out postponing all our plans to explore northeast.
      "You lunatic, where are you going now?" She screamed behind my back so loud disinterested to follow my lead.
       "I have to make a few phone calls and once I am back we shall go for dinner outside. How about that?" I turned around to calm her down and she gifted me with her best ever smile.

********To be continued**********