— Nischitha G
Dhruv was standing right there for an hour. It was late at night around 9o’clock. It had been raining since noon that day. Roads were clogged with water and the stationary vehicles in the traffic were making his wait for the bus increasingly difficult. Any slight movement in the vehicles was causing the clogged water to splash all around. He was alone at the bus stop that day and was evidently restless. He had been late everyday for the entirety of his internship. His performance was sub-par and he would be fired if he repeated this behavior, his manager had said the day before. From the day he started reading newspapers, he told everyone he wanted to be a journalist. And for this summer, he was hired for an investigative journalist position at an esteemed newspaper. That day was his only chance to redeem his position at work.
Dhruv was always game for field research on the case. He believed in documentation of every single detail in any case. He knew such tedious tasks would be a part of his internship curriculum. But he was not the one for only tedious tasks. Only a week into his 6 week- internship, it became apparent to him that interns were never hired for the field work. A good journalist finds his own work, his father had told him. When he managed to find a case study, it was stripped off of his hands because it was too big of a story for a person of his age. Eventually he lost interest. He did contemplate quitting for a day or two but went against it because it’s too late to find an investigative journalist internship for the summer. And he couldn’t quit because he was not a quitter. He wanted to prove himself to the management. Everyday after writing several reports for the company, he stayed up late at night trying to find context for his own cover stories to write. This led to him being late every single day. But an hour ago, he received a call from his manager and he was asked to get to the office immediately regarding a new case that has come up and that he could aid them in it. His heart jumped with joy when he heard the phrase “A new case” when he was only used to documenting the old ones. And given it was a Sunday. So, it must have been important. He rushed to the bus stop.
While waiting for the bus he could see the annoyed faces of the public in all vehicles stuck in the traffic. He glanced over at the vehicles in front of him and one vehicle stood out. As a part of his elaborate research, he knew for a fact that an entirely tinted glass is illegal. This vehicle’s front and side windows were certainly fully tinted. He couldn’t get a glance at the rear glass of the van. He couldn’t help but have a visceral feeling that something was off. The bus stop was after the check post. Police should have noticed the clearly tinted glass. He immediately took his phone out and clicked the picture of the van. Maybe he was bored and was reading too much into the situation? Was it really a full tint or was it the darkness? He thought to himself. No. He could clearly see others and their annoyed faces. He could just add this to his prospective cover stories if the management approves it: “The police not identifying the cars with a full tint. What would happen to the crime rates?”.
Slowly when the vehicles started clearing out, the van moved forward and Dhruv could have bet on his life that he had seen a commotion in the van from the rear glass. He realised the music from the van was so loud that he could listen to it amidst the pouring rain. Relax, he told himself. It could have been friends partying in the back. No. It was forced. Should he call the police? Or inform someone? Should he follow them? If he informed the police by the check post, would they be willing to check the van once again? Did they even check the van near the checkpost? If he called the police, the task would be forwarded to the group of the police at the check post, wouldn’t it? Would they believe him? A teenager complaining he has seen something in the vehicle that already crossed their check post. A teenager who works for a newspaper. Police are not particularly amicable with the media. Anyway, it was too late. If he followed the vehicle, he would lose his bus that would probably be here in a few minutes. And lose his job. But was the “new case” a really new case for him to solve? Or just an important one for him to submit his report as soon as possible? It could go worse. He could die if it went bad.
He took his chances. Because he believed in the fact that instincts are always right in any investigation. He stopped an auto, got in and asked the driver to follow the van. He opened his phone to see the picture he clicked. Luckily the van’s vehicle number was noticeable. But was it even a registered vehicle? Was the van number even real? He immediately took his phone out to call his manager but went against the decision. Keeping an eye on the van, he called his co-intern and friend Anya. “Hello” she said.”Dhruv, where are you? The manager is serious. He wants you here right now. This is the case. Remember Rohith Goenka from freshman year? Son of the CEO of PowerSonics Ltd? He went missing the day before yesterday morning. And they think we could have some insight into–” He couldn’t listen to anything she said afterwards. He saw a social media post the day before. But he dismissed the thought that Rohit went missing then. He expected him to be somewhere partying. Classic freshman quality. Then, it hit him. What if the person in the van was Rohith? Dhruv couldn’t think of anything else but all the kidnapping statistics that he came across during his research.
On an average, 17 children go missing in the city every day as of 2019. Out of which, 9 are found within the first 72 hours from the point when the case is filed. 98% of the escapes happened during the travel between the point of abduction and a secondary location. 95% of the demands for ransom are made within the first 72 hours after the victim is tied up at a secondary location. Sometimes more than that to make the parents anxious which eventually leads to them caving in for the demands. Any unnecessary photographic memory of human beings tends to be erased in the first 72 hours. So, if anyone has located the victim, it would be crucial evidence for the last seen location. Maximum awareness is raised in the first 72 hours with posters and social media posts. Women receive twice the media coverage received by men. A person abducted for murder is killed in the first 3 hours post-abduction. Or they wait for a day or two before they start torturing the victim in case what they needed was information. After the 72 hour mark, authorities divide into groups- some searching for the person alive and some searching for the body. This 72 hour mark is extended until around 1 week if the victim is an adult.
Rohit must have been at least 17 as of the date the case was filed. He doubted if the police would consider this a high security case in the initial hours.
If the person in the van was Rohit, it means he’s alive. Given he went missing 2 days before, He must have been abducted for ransom. Because everyone knew he was rich and had no enemies. But if this person wasn’t Rohit, he tried not to think of the possibility that Rohit might be dead. “Anya, Hey, listen. I think I have seen a van. Umm, it’s fully tinted in the front and sides but I could see someone struggling to get out of the rear glass. I’m following the van right now.”
“What? Dhruv NO! Maybe call the police. We should work on this case or you’ll be fired. Come here right now!” She yelled at him.
“Sorry, too late.What if it’s Rohith? Also, hey was there a demand for ransom in Rohith’s case?” He asked.
“I can’t let you know the specifics unless you are here, Dhruv.” She snapped at him. “Okay, Anyway, I’ll send a picture of the van and its number. I’m following it right now and hey, track my phone. I gotta go. Let the police know just in case I don’t call you in an hour. It’s probably nothing but just to be sure.” He cut the call and sent her the picture and his live location. He put his phone on silent and watched the van intently.
He asked for the auto driver to keep a good distance from the van when he stopped and so did the driver. He got down and asked the driver to wait and promised to compensate him for all the waiting time. He walked for a distance and there they were. He could see a gate and a small house inside the fence. Perfect place to keep a victim, he thought. He had never been to this remote area of the town. The van was parked just in front of the door of the building. He could hear the muffled noises moving into the building with the van blocking the view. He was deciding on whether he should go in. If this person wasn’t Rohit and he was abducted for murder or information, there was a real good chance they would kill him or hurt him the minute they entered the house. He looked at his phone to find it dead. What? When did it get switched off? Was Anya able to receive the information he had sent? What if Anya tried to call him with a piece of information? He decided to go in. At least to find out if the victim is safe before he can report to the authorities. Also, he had nothing to fear if the struggle at the back of the van was nothing. If.
His first move was to scan the area outside the house. When it appeared to be clear, He removed his shoes and slowly walked upto the van that was in front of the house. He deftly slid from the back of the van to a side window of the house. He moved the curtain a little to have a clear cut view of the gang. He counted 4 people and a blindfolded person trying to fight them off.
His mouth was plastered. No wonder his shouts for help would have been muffled by the loud music and rain. They pinned the boy down to a chair and tied him up. Now he was sure. Surprisingly, he felt happy. And confident. He felt like this could be his chance to get the management to treat him right. He was about to make a run to the gate and then further to the auto driver whom he asked to wait. When he was almost at the gate, two men emerged from the door and saw him. They were quick enough to get to him and then everything blacked out.
Dhruv woke up in a hospital. Everything was blurry. Then he saw Anya walk in through the door. He gathered up all of his energy to sit up. Anya rushed to him. He slowly started to speak. “I was at the site, they.. They.. found me..What’s the time now?”
“It’s 2o’clock. Yes Yes I know. They punched you.” She laughed.
“What happened? How did you get there? My phone went off on the way. I thought you wouldn’t find me. I thought I was going to die.” He said with a sincere frown on his face. “Around an hour and a half after you called, there came an intel that Goenkas received a demand for ransom. So I figured there could be a possibility that the kidnappers must have reached the second location just then. And you’d seen a kidnapper van traveling. So, I connected the dots and informed the police. Initially they were reluctant to go with my lead. But since high profile people were involved they finally took my lead in. From your last tracked location and the vehicle number they’ve sped up the search. They found you and Rohit safe in a bungalow on the outskirts of the town. They have arrested the kidnappers.”
“You guys managed to find me within 3 hours with that information?” He asked surprised. “Actually, No.” She smiled as he realized. “The auto driver!” He exclaimed.
“Apparently, he didn’t notice the building you entered in the dark and went on to knock on 2 or 3 doors in the same lane for you before he went to the police to file a complaint against you for skipping his 1000 bucks.” She informed him. Both of them burst into laughter.
Edited by Devika Dinesh
Design by Shatabdi Deori
Article 19 