The sound of the water droplet falling on the base of the window was making its presence felt like a echo. Girish was sitting across Prasad in his cabin, when Prasad said "Mr. Kamat, as you are aware we dug the place you mentioned, we could not find the bodies as it was decomposed. We did though found belongings which helped identify their identities and corroborated it with their family members".
"Kamat Sir, why did you do it? Why come and confess after thirty years? You are in your seventies, you could have kept this as your secret and died peacefully as a good samaritan. We did a background check of yours and everyone only has good things to say about you. Why give up on all that? Prasad asked him as he looked at him trying to unravel the puzzle.
"I needed to answer myself. I am guilty of killing three people. I am sure their families must be looking for them. I needed closure and they did too". Kamat replied.
"Why kill them? They had paid for their crimes". Prasad asked him. "Not enough. When they tried to do it again." He replied "Again?" Prasad questioned. Girish replies in affirmative.
"Can you let me know what happened?". Girish took out this spectacles and moved his right hand fingers between his eyes and pressed his nose and removed them.
"Even post completing their jail term, they never got reformed. They began haunting my family. My wife, my kids and me. I did what an ordinary citizen would do, file a complaint with the police station and they would get away. Until they got to her. I knew I had to take things in my own hands now".
"My wife was a strong women, She rebuild herself from the tatters she was left with. She had been an independent women, a loving wife and a good mother. She was back into her shell, scared wondering if it was going to happen again. They almost got hold of her the other day but got saved from getting raped."
"I killed them and life has been a bliss thereafter especially my wife who recovered and died peacefully,seeing our children grown up, well settled. We were living happily in our own world and somehow found ourselves under this situation. What was I suppose to do, sit around and wait till they harm my family? I was not going to let it happen."
"One has to take matters into their own hands when the system fails to give you justice". Girish thundered. "Mr. Kamat, I can only sympathies with what you have gone through, but taking matters in your hand is certainly I wont recommend. I know the system failed you, but that does not happen all the time." Prasad said trying to make his point.
Girish looked at him with stern eyes and said "Do you know about the infamous Priyadarshini Mattoo Case?" Prasad nodded yes. "You also must be knowing that his death sentence was converted to life sentence. Have you wondered about the girl who lost her life at the young age of 25. Don't you think she had her own aspirations? her family dreams for her. How do you think they would respond that the killer of their daughter is still alive, got married, had a child, becomes an advocate and it took 10 years to deliver justice. Numerous written complaints filed but yet the killer got away. Had the system worked, today she would have been alive instead of getting murdered and raped gruesomely".
Prasad was left speechless. He got up from his seat, moved towards Kamat and said "Sir, I know the system failed but we need to keep trying. Not everyone is a bad apple. I will have to arrest you for the crimes you committed and would be kept in jail till the court hearing comes up and gives its verdict" he said.
"You please do your job" Girish said. Prasad called out to Gaitonde to take Girish away.
As Mr. Kamat was taken away from his cabin, Prasad looked at him wondering if justice has been truly served given the nature of the case. He moved towards the window and opened it as it stopped raining outside.
P.S. This short story is actually inspired by an old 2001 Sri Lankan movie Aswesuma story plot. I have only read about it, not seen yet it made me think...
Finally, I have some closure.
2 comments:
Ah! This connundrum , how do we resolve this? Law is to protect & punish but when people don't belive in it, can it be effective ? But how do let anarchy rule instead? Anyhow, i wished you had written the story longer! Why the back drop off rain? It doesn't add to the story
@ Meena Ah, too lazy to write a long one. All comes down to choices, right? You did not say how is it, good, bad?
The rain reference is to the passage of time, sometime we notice or just ignore...
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