The
inspector of police was about to leave the police station for home. A constable
came in to announce that a young lady wanted to see him urgently. She came soon
behind him, a young lady in her late twenties. The Inspector asked the
constable to remain outside. She seemed educated and spoke flawless English.
The inspector was an elderly man about to retire in a year with a daughter of
her age and a son well settled.
Asked what
brought her to the station, she said coolly “I have poured acid on my husband’s
face when he was asleep. He is writhing in pain at my home.” The inspector
could not believe what he heard till she assured him that it was a fact. The
inspector asked her to wait and meanwhile sent a SI with a constable in a jeep
along with keys to her home to admit the man in agony in a hospital. He
simultaneously arranged an ambulance to reach her home
Once this
was taken care of, he asked her to narrate the events truthfully as they
happened. After a glass of water, she said” I am Swati, a post graduate in
Botany and a lecturer in a college. I made the mistake of falling in love with
this man whom I married later. He is an exceptionally handsome guy, with an
infectious smile, slightly effeminate, suave in manners and an engaging
conversationalist that would sweep any woman off her feet. He is intelligent,
cunning, lazy and fond of good living, easy money and adept in handling girls.
When I fell
in love with him, he told me that he was a MBA and an executive in a reputed
company. I have waited before his office building in the evenings till he came
out for spending the evenings. He took me around to places but took care not to
take advantage of my mad love for him before marriage. This made me trust him
more. I have no mother.
My father
an old man who is no more had one look at him and said “Swati, he rings fake to
me. Something about him warns me that he is not right, though I cannot
pinpoint. Don’t be in a hurry to marry him. Have his statements verified
independently before you take this important decision.”
Foolish and
headstrong as I was, I ignored his suggestion and went ahead with the marriage.
At the suggestion of my husband, it was a simple marriage with a very few
friends of his. It was only later after a few months that I could find out, he
had no job, had no MBA and was a plain loafer. It transpired later he waited in
the office building to pose that he worked there. I also learnt to my utter
shock that I was his fifth wife and that he had inveigled earlier many girls
like me and married them, gave them children and robbed them of their money. He
went each night to one of the unfortunate women.”
The kindly
inspector asked “Do you have any child? Have you also parted with your jewels
and belongings as I see no gold on your neck or hands?”
She replied
“Yes, I have lost all. Luckily I have no child. He made me abort the one
immediately after marriage telling me that it would be a hindrance for planned
holidays and I was then not aware of his shenanigans. The immediate provocation
for my drastic step today was his attempt to cheat a young girl into a
marriage. I overheard his conversation telling her that he is an IRS officer
and unmarried when he assumed I was not at home. When I confronted him that I
would not tolerate any more of his cheating young women and that I would
complain to police, he laughed derisively and asked me to get lost.
The inspector kept
quiet thinking of a plan to resolve successfully this matter. I knew his looks
were his asset and I decided to take it away from him so that no girl would
ever fall a victim any more to his wily moves. I had strong acid for cleaning
purposes and I decided to wait till he fell asleep on the sofa after watching
TV as he usually does. I took this decision consciously and am prepared to
suffer punishment for it.”
The
inspector kept quiet motioning her to remain silent and thought over the matter
for a few minutes. He could see in the agitated young girl before him a picture
of his own daughter. He could visualize the mental torture of hers having been
cheated by a riffraff. He had no sympathy for the young man who got his just
desserts. What he was worried was the wrong manner in which the justice was
administered to him by the young woman taking law into her own hands.
After a
while he coughed slightly and told her in a quiet voice” You have taken law
into your own hands. This is highly wrong, a big offence and punishable. Listen
carefully, you are of my daughter’s age and I trust what all you have said.
Still I will make independent inquiries to verify the veracity of your
statements. If he is really a culprit as you have explained, have no worry at
all. You said that you poured the acid on his face when he was asleep. He must
have lost his vision by now. Give me a statement duly signed that on entering
the house from the college, you found the door open, your husband writhing in
pain on sofa and that someone must have assaulted him with acid out of enmity.
Utter no word to anyone that you did it and stick to this no matter what. I
will bring this case to a successful conclusion to the great relief of his five
cheated wives and to the rescue of his potential sixth victim.”
He stood
up, patted her on her shoulders and said “Don’t worry; you have a dad in me.
Policemen aren’t as bad as they are often depicted.”
The story
can end here. However, for some of the readers who expect a twist at the end,
please read on.
It was then
the mobile in Inspector’s hand rang.” What did you say? Repeat it, is it that
your brother is in hospital with acid burn? Which hospital and who gave the
information? I am rushing there,” he replied to his wife.
He turned
to see Swati trembling in fear. “Do not worry. Our deal stands. If the man is a
cheat, he will pay the price. You may go home without fear. My only wish is
that your husband is not my brother in law but a different man, though my
brother in law is a wastrel with all the traits of your husband.” the inspector
said as he rushed to the jeep.
For those
not satisfied with the above twist being unrealistic, here is another.
On hearing
is wife, the inspector looked at the trembling Swati sternly without a trace of
compassion he showed earlier and walked to his desk. He took her statement from
the drawer and tore it to shreds and bellowed to SI,” Take her to women’s
police station and keep her in the lock up till you hear from me.”
If you
desire the ultimate twist, here is one.
When the
mobile rang in inspector’s hand, he asked, “Tell me quickly. I am in a hurry to
go out. Did you say your wife is missing? What is her name? Okay. Please tell
me,” and listened quietly and looked at Swati once or twice. Finally, he said
to the person on the phone, “Yes, sir, she is here. You may come immediately. I
will wait for you.”
In a few
minutes, a young and handsome man got down from car and introduced himself, “I
am Mohan, IRS working as Assistant Commissioner," and gave his card and showed his ID. "This is my wife Swati. I am sorry she has inconvenienced you all. She is having
some psychological problem and very occasionally gets into a bout of persecution
complex and imagines all sorts of things. This is the third time. We are a
happily married couple. She is under treatment under Dr. Sargunaraj. If you wish,
you may talk to him."
Meanwhile
Swati had snuggled close to Mohan and smiled innocently at the inspector unaware
of the problem she had created a while ago.Evidently the presence and comfort of her husband's proximity had calmed her mind.
