The Case for the Vindication

April 1st, 2014

11.30 a.m.

Mrs. Anaysha Shelvankar had carefully read an article on social media. Then, with the dry chuckle which was her nearest approach to a laugh, she handed her laptop to me.

“For a farrago of the contemporary and the of the medieval, of the empirical and of the wildly fanciful, I think this is surely the damper,” said she. “What do you make of it, Ronit?”

The article read as follows:

“Rishi Pathak, a 22-year-old man from India’s Madhya Pradesh state, has recently accused his wife of drinking his blood on a regular basis, for the last three years.

Although it sounds like the story of a cheap vampire movie, young Rishi swears he’s telling the truth and even bears the scars to prove it. He and his wife, Nilansha Pathak, employees in the IT Sector, got married in 2010, in Indore. A few months later, she started drawing blood from his veins, emptying the contents of the syringe into an empty glass and drinking the contents. She threatened to do terrible things to him if he dared tell anyone about her habit, and he kept quiet for about three years.

Nilansha claimed drinking her husband’s blood kept her strong and boosted her virility, so she didn’t stop playing the vampire even when she was pregnant. After she gave birth, seven months ago, he started protesting for the first time, because he would feel weak and nauseated after each blood extraction. Every time he resisted, his wife beat him, and when he couldn’t take it anymore, he ran to the local counsellor, who after hearing his disturbing story, alerted the authorities. Oddly enough, the police didn’t even register a case against the blood drinking Nilansha, but after the people of their locality learned of his bizarre habit, they took Rishi’s side, and this finally prompted the police to register an FIR that Rishi was physicality tortured by his wife. But the blood drinking wife was exculpated due to lack of evidence.” 

“Anything is better than stagnation, but really we seem to have been switched on to a Grimms’ fairy tale”, continued Anaysha, “Make a long arm, Ronit, and see what V has to say.”

I leaned back and took down the great index volume to which she referred. Anaysha balanced it on her knee, and her eyes moved slowly and lovingly over the record of old cases, mixed with the accumulated information of a lifetime.

“Four skeletons unearthed in Poland appear to have been buried in a “vampire” ritual designed to prevent them returning from the grave, Anaysha started reading the captions, “Two Famous Vampire Cases in History - Arnold Paole (died 1726) and Peter Plogojewitz (died 1725). Both cases are unbelievably similar. The Varacolaci is probably the most powerful of all vampires, so it may come as a surprise that very little is known about it aside from the fact that it has a tongue-twister of a name. The story of Mercy Brown dates back to the winter of 1892. A resident of Exeter, RI, the 19-year-old girl died of an unknown illness, but people around town began to report seeing her walking around. When Mercy's dead body was examined in the spring, it reportedly still looked alive. According to the legend, Mercy's heart was removed in order to end her wanderings.”

She turned over the pages with eagerness, but after a short intent perusal, she threw down the great book with a snarl of disappointment. “Rubbish, Ronit, rubbish! What have we to do with walking corpses who can only be held in their grave by stakes driven through their hearts? It’s pure lunacy”, said Anaysha.

“But surely,” said I, “the vampire is not necessarily a dead man? A living person might have the habit. I have read, for example, of the old sucking the blood of the young in order to retain their youth.”

“Right, Ronit. It mentions the legend in one of these references. The...”

Inspector Cornell opened the door with a loud noise.

“Ahh! Cornell! Come come... We’ve got something interesting here”, said Anaysha.

“Anaysha Shelvankar! You’re under arrest”, said Cornell, pointing his revolver at her.

“What?”, Anaysha and I replied in unison. 

“Ahh! 1^st April... Fool’s day...sorry Cornell”, said Anaysha, grinning.

“This isn’t a joke Mrs. Shelvankar. Surrender!” Cornell roared at her.

“What is the allegation against me?”

“You’ve been charged with murder of Sitangshu Chopra”.

“What? But he’s...”

Cornell didn’t allow her to finish. Anaysha was soon handcuffed by the lady constable.

I stood at the door, bewildered.

April 1^st 2014

1.30 p.m.

Andheri Police Station

Anaysha sat on the iron stool inside the dimly lit lockup with a facepalm. The constable opened the lockup gate for me. Anaysha’s face was dry. She looked at me. I came upto her and gave her a hug.

“Ronit? What’s this? I didn’t murder Sitangshu. I don’t understand this at all. Do something, Ronit”, Anaysha said.

“Anaysha, I’ve seen the CCTV footage of Chopra’s cabin. He was murdered therein.”

“What’s the murder weapon? Pistol or some blunt instrument?”

“Well, what type of instrument is human tooth? Canines, to be precise”.

“Ronit, this isn’t the time for conundrums. Tell me. How was Sitangshu murdered?”

“Umm...you never told me you drink human blood”.

“Ronit! Do you even understand the depth of the case?”

“Sorry! I’m just telling you what I saw in the footage. “An Anaysha Shelvankar”, drinking blood from Chopra’s neck and then shooting him right in the chest. The footage has not been tampered. Anybody can say that the girl in the footage is you. I’ve checked each and every detail of the visible portion of this Anaysha’s body. Even the mole is there on the left arm. You don’t suffer from split personality disorder, do you?”

“Don’t you trust me?” said Anaysha, looking straight into my eyes.

“Of course I do dear. But each and every evidence is against you. The body has been sent for autopsy. The DNA reports are yet to come. And, let me tell you, I’ve strict orders to stay away from this case. I can’t examine the body. The authorities fear I may save my dear wife from imprisonment.

But this case is only prima facie. You can fight the case yourself. I’ll see you soon honey. Take care. I know there’s something fishy going on. I’ll find out very soon. You need not worry”, I said, after kissing her forehead and departed from the police station.

I had known Anaysha for fourteen long years since our college days and I was pretty sure there was someone behind this and there was room for manoeuvre. All I could was to wait for the hearing at the court.

April 3^rd, 2014

11a.m

Bombay Sessions’ Court

I sat on the bench, behind the public prosecutor. Anaysha was led by a constable to the dock. It was the first time I doubted Anaysha’s acquittal because every evidence was going to speak against my innocent wife.

The trial began.

The public prosecutor, Neel Chattaraj, began, “Your Honour, today is a historical day in this court. The renowned advocate, ‘the Anaysha Shelvankar’ who has always shook hands with justice, has been accused of culpable homicide under IPC Section 299, and murder under IPC Section 302 of Mr. Sitangshu Chopra, who turns out to be Mrs. Shelvankar’s ex-lover. Mrs. Shelvankar drank the blood of Mr. Chopra and shot him in the chest which led to his instant death. The bullet with which Mr. Chopra was shot, matches with the bullet of Mrs. Shelvankar’s revolver. Inspector Cornell has found one bullet missing from Mrs. Shelvankar’s revolver and only her fingerprints have been found on the revolver. The motive is absolutely clear, your Honour. Revenge. Revenge after split. Isn’t it Mrs. Shelvankar?”

 “Objection, your Honour!” Anaysha said, stepping down from the dock, “This is absolutely irrelevant. My revolver was fully loaded. Moreover, Chopra and I have not been in contact since 1999”.

“But the call records tell us a different story, Mrs. Shelvankar. Your Honour, a copy of Mr. Chopra’s call records has been kept on your table for your kind perusal. It clearly shows Mrs. Shelvankar had been contacted by the deceased on 31^st March at 9.37p.m, the same night he was murdered”, said the prosecutor.

Now, Justice Vajpaye spoke. “Mrs. Shelvankar, is that true?”

“Your Honour”, said Anaysha, “It’s true that Mr. Sitangshu Chopra had contacted me on March 31^st after almost fifteen years; he needed some legal advice regarding his ancestral property. He asked me to fix an appointment for him. That’s all. I never went to his apartment”.

“What do you have to say about the CCTV footage then, Mrs. Shelvankar?” the prosecutor said.

“That lady can’t be me.  I was at the Citilights Restaurant. You can confirm from the manager of the restaurant himself”, said Anaysha.
“I would like to call Mr. Khosla, the manager of Citilights Restaurant with your Honour's permission”, said prosecutor Chattaraj.
“Permission granted”
The manager came up to the dock.
“Mr. Khosla, tell the court about Mrs. Shelvankar’s presence in your restaurant on March 31”, the prosecution said.
“Your Honour”, said Mr. Khosla, “Mrs. Shelvankar had come to our restaurant with Mr. Shelvankar at 8.30 p.m. But she left, leaving Mr. Shelvankar alone at near about 9p.m.”

“Why are you lying Mr. Khosla? I left the restaurant at 10p.m. Check the CCTV footage of the restaurant”.

“Your Honour”, said the prosecution, “Let me play the footage. As you can see, Mrs. Anaysha Shelvankar isn’t present. The time shows 9.30p.m, exactly seven minutes before Mr. Chopra’s murder”.

“How is that possible? Your Honour, it’s fake” said Anaysha in her defence.

“But the evidences and the witnesses are against you Mrs. Shelvankar. You need a solid evidence to prove your innocence”, Justice Vajpaye said, “The next and the final trial shall be held on April 7, 2014. The court is adjourned for the day”.

I stood up and went to talk to Anaysha.

“Anaysha, what’s this now? That footage... it’s against your innocence. Why don’t you take Suhana’s help? She was to come for dinner that night”, I said.

“Right! You ask her to be present in the court in the next trial”, Anaysha said.

“You don’t worry, honey. I’m sure truth shall prove it’s innocence”.

“You take care”.

April 7, 2014

Bombay Session’s Court

3.30p.m

“Let the trial begin”, Justice Vajpaye said.

“Your Honour”, the prosecution began, “It’s an open and shut case. But we have another witness who Mrs. Shelvankar claims shall prove her innocence. I shall present Mrs. Suhana Binani, Mrs. Shelvankar’s best friend, with your kind permission”.

“Permission granted”.

Suhana came up to the dock.

“So, Mrs. Binani, tell us what you have to say”, prosecutor Chattaraj said.

“Suhana, tell the court. You were to come for dinner that night in the same restaurant. I had invited you, but you called me up later for not being able to do so”, Anaysha said.

“What? When did we plan for dinner? Stop lying Anaysha. Your Honour, Anaysha didn’t invite me that night. I don’t know why she’s lying”.

“Suhana please tell us the truth”.

“Mrs. Shelvankar, I have another witness against you”, the prosecution said.

A girl, nearly about twenty five, came up to the dock.

“Your Honour, my name is Fatima Owasi. I’m a big fan of Advocate Shelvankar. I live in the same apartment where Mr. Chopra used to reside in. That night, I met her in the lift. I also took a photograph with her and she gave me her card. Here it is”.

The public prosecutor showed the photo and Anaysha’s card to Justice Vajpaye and the entire court as well.

“It’s all a lie. Your Honour, I don’t even know this girl. I don’t know where she got my card from”, said Anaysha.

The next witness was the watchman of the apartment where Chopra lived in. He said he had seen Shelvankar madam enter and leave the apartment between 9.20 and 9.45 p.m.

“The prosecution rests, your Honour”, Chattaraj said.

“Taking all evidences and witnesses into concern, the Court has found Mrs. Anaysha Shelvankar guilty of Mr. Sitangshu Chopra’s murder. The Court punishes Mrs. Shelvankar with life imprisonment. Case dismissed”, Justice Vajpaye finally gave the verdict.

I knew my wife was innocent. But I couldn’t help. Anaysha was taken away by the constables and thrown into prison. I was not even allowed to meet her.

April 8, 2014

5.30 a.m.

My bedroom door opened with a loud noise. I opened my drowsy eyes, just to find Anaysha standing in a white sari, having a blue border.

“Anaysha! What are you doing here? How did you get here?”

“I ran away from jail. My ability to hypnotise people finally got a chance to prove itself. I hypnotised the jailer and the constables and ran away. Now, listen to me. This is a deep conspiracy. We have very little time to find out. You come with me and take your iPod with you”, said Anaysha.

I slid in my sandals and went out with my wife.

It was 8.30 a.m when we reached the Citilights restaurant. The manager was there. Anaysha pointed her revolver at him and asked to confess the truth.

“I’m sorry madam. A masked man came to me and offered 20 lakhs of rupees and asked me give witness against you and changes the CCTV footage”.

“Good. See you in the court soon. Your confession has been recorded”. 

Now it was Suhana’s turn to confess the truth. Anaysha and I hurried off to her house. Suhana burst out in tears on seeing her best friend. “How are you Annu? And why did you send me that video and ask me to lie in the court?”

“What? I didn’t send you anything. Show me the video. Hurry!”

Suhana brought her laptop and played the video for us. An Anaysha Shelvankar was asking Suhana to lie in the court. The background showed that it was shot in the lockup.

“Nonsense Suhana! Have you ever seen a fire extinguisher in a lockup? This is a fake video. Now it’s time to reveal all the secrets. I’ll see you in court and do not lie this time”, said Anaysha.

“Ronit! There! A masked man! He was looking at us. Follow his car Ronit. I need to finish some unattended work”.

I drove my car as fast as possible and stopped where the masked man’s car was parked. I couldn’t find the man anywhere. I entered the bungalow.

“Anaysha? How did you get here? Why have you stuck so many photos of...”

Inspector Cornell didn’t let me finish. He had found Anaysha. She was dragged into the police vehicle, leaving me with an open mouth.

April 8, 2014

3 p.m.

Bombay Sessions’ Court

Anaysha stood in the dock. Suhana was in tears and she was sitting right beside me. The trial was to begin in a few moments.

And, to everyone’s amazement, an Anaysha Shelvankar entered the Court in white sari and a black overcoat!

“Order order! Silence in the court, please”, Justice Vajpaye said, “What’s this now? Two Anayshas? Mr. Ronit Shelvankar! Please come up to the dock and tell us which Anaysha is the real one”.

I observed both the ladies. Absolutely mirror images of each other and Anaysha didn’t have a twin sister.

“Okay! Tell me the date of our marriage anniversary”.

“June 23”, both the ladies replied in unison.

Everyone raised their eyebrows.

Now, the Anaysha in lawyer’s uniform spoke.

“Mr. Ronit Shelvankar, you can take your seat. Your Honour, give me a minute and I’ll bring out the real Anaysha”.

“Permission granted”.

 The Anaysha in lawyer’s uniform continued, “Prosecutor Chattaraj, do you remember we’re college mates?”

“Yes”.

“And do you remember that incident which took place on June 28, 1998?”

“Which incident?”

“You remember our professor, Sunita ma’am?”

“Ahh! That incident! Moreover,I still remember her perfume’s fragrance. She was a wonderful teacher”, the Anaysha in the dock said.

“You keep quiet. I’ve asked Mr. Neel Chattaraj”.

“Yes I remember her”, Chattaraj said.

“On June 28, 1998, Sunita ma’am had dropped a hundred rupee note in the classroom, mistakably. You had taken the money and you never returned it to her. Ring a bell?”

“No. Nothing like this happened”, Chattaraj said.

“Yes! You should have returned the money”, the Anaysha in the dock said.

“Your Honour, here’s the fake Anaysha. Miss. Ummm... whatever your name is, do you know 28^th June, 1998, was a Sunday and colleges remain closed on Sundays. Moreover, the hundred rupee note came after the year 2000. There were no notes of hundred rupees before 2000.

Period.

 The defence rests, your Honour”, said the Anaysha in the lawyer’s uniform.

“Who are you? And why did you do this?” Justice Vajpaye asked the lady standing in the dock.

“My name is Nilansha... Nilansha Pathak, sister of Neel Chattaraj and late Nivrita Chattaraj. I lost my dear sister, my best friend only because of this Shelvankar. She was hanged till death. I and my brother, Neel, made a plan to take revenge. I underwent a plastic surgery and took Anaysha Shelvankar’s face. I learnt everything about her history and hence went to kill Mr. Chopra. I deliberately gave my card to that girl, which I had taken from my sister’s bunk. My brother bribed the restaurant manager and I sent a fake video to Mrs. Suhana Binani, so that they could lie in the court. I had also stolen Shelvankar’s revolver. Our plan became successful but Shelvankar had run away from jail and inspector Cornell arrested me in my bungalow, thinking me to be her. That’s all, your Honour”.

“The court, on finding Mrs. Pathak and Advocate Neel Chattaraj, guilty of Mr. Sitangshu Chopra’s murder and conspiracy against Advocate Shelvankar, sentences lifetime imprisonment. The Court acquits Mrs. Anaysha Shelvankar, but she has to pay a fine of 20000 rupees for contempt of court. The Court also orders the concerned doctors to remove Advocate Shelvankar's face from Mrs. Pathak's face. Case dismissed”.     

I looked at my wife. She was sitting on her chair. I wanted to congratulate her, but my body didn’t permit. All I could say was, “Satyameva Jayate”.