Deep inside, Shital was very scared inside the train. It was all dark, and she could see ghost like structures moving around. She missed her mom and papa dearly and was crying bitterly. Suddenly, like a whiff of hope, she saw everyone around her clapping around. It was DCP Satyajit Kapoor, with his group of policemen who had come to rescue them.
Shital was a reclusive young girl, aged 16 and was traveling for the first time out of Mumbai alone to meet her grandparents at Kankavali via the Konkan Railway route. Her mom and dad were working, and had sent her off to spend the summer vacations with her grandparents. Her grandpa and grandma were to receive her at the station and take her to her native place where she was supposed to have a blast. She was careful not to venture out of the train throughout the journey as advised by her parents and kept to herself throughout the journey. A teddy bear and the music in her iPad were her companion and a source of comfort for her throughout the journey. Her parents were to join her at the end of her vacation and take her back home. Everything was according to the plan but fate had it otherwise for the little girl and her co-passengers. The last three bogies, one of which where she was sleeping got detached itself from the main train in the middle of the night and was stuck in a deep tunnel. Some of the passengers got out from the train but were dumbstruck as scary figures greeted them along the way. Due to the ensuing noise, Shital woke up from her deep slumber and realized that she was in deep trouble.
The next day morning, her grandparents who had reached the station to receive Shital were in deep grief as they got the news that the running train had already lost its three bogies which had led to a frantic search of the missing persons. Shital’s father, who had contacts with the higher ups in the Mantralaya tried to use the connections to locate her at the earliest but was deeply worried as no positive news was forthcoming from the Police. The news spread like wildfire and was the main Breaking News in all News Channels.
“Where are the missing bogies?”
a. Did they slide down a deep valley?
b. Was it an attempt to kidnap by some vested interests?
Things were difficult due to sudden and heavy unseasonal rains over the area which made movement of the Police personnel and the workers very difficult. The question in everyone’s mind was how three bogies of an Express train can go missing like thin air. It can’t be possible. Various conspiracy theories were being spun by one and all.
As 48 hours passed by without any trace of the missing persons, the Chief Minister called for a meeting of top Police officials as it was becoming a matter of grave concern. Amidst all this mayhem, an unknown Sadhu residing by the hills became famous overnight, as he declared the case of the missing bogies due to the possession of some evil spirits around the tunnel. He pointed out an unfinished railway track beside the tunnel. Work was in progress in this track, a year ago. The workers were being harassed by the contractors and were grossly underpaid. They were made to work like donkeys when fate had it that one day, there were heavy rains and boulders from the hill descended upon hundreds of them while work in progress and crushed them to death. Since then, the work of the track was left unattended and a fresh railway track was laid successfully into a tunnel which took trains from Mumbai to Mangalore and beyond. The Sadhu declared that this unfinished railway track led to an invisible apparition where the bogies may have got lost. He warned the people not to beyond the unfinished tracks. Myths regarding the spirit of the dead workers surrounding this place were already a part of the village folklore and no villager dared to hover around this place. These ghost stories from where the bogies were believed to be missing irked the families of the missing and were causing a massive embarrassment to the Government. The Sadhu was demanding that a massive yagna was to be conducted to relieve the spirits and rescue the missing bogies.
The Police arrested the Sadhu for making concocted stories and cheating the gullible and started clearing the area from nuisance from the crowd as the area was becoming more like a tourist spot. Here, the dad of Shital was getting more and more worried as no credible information could be gathered by the Police even after 4 days elapsed since the incident. News of two to three constables gone missing from the spot also spread like wildfire. It was difficult to confirm whether these constables were really missing or these stories were concocted. The Sadhu was continuing to warn people from behind the bars regarding the impending dangers of the spirits lurking around the marked area. The Media went after interviewing the Sadhu in jail, the villagers, and the families of the missing persons. Even the families of the so called missing constables were not left by the Media.
The top brass of the Police investigating this incident were being transferred by the furious Chief Minister for inaction and lack of seriousness in solving the case of missing bogies, which had become a sort of outrage and the Government just could not face the ire of he people and the heat of the Opposition leaders who were taunting the ruling party for the lapse. The no-nonsense cop DCP Satyajit Kapoor was handpicked by the CM to take charge of the situation which was letting out of hand. DCP Satyajit Kapoor assessed the situation quickly and rushed to the controversial spot from where the bogies were believed to be missing. He ordered his team of Policemen to follow him. The fire brigade, Ambulance and emergency medical services were kept ready for any emergent situation.
Deep inside, Shital was very scared inside the train. It was all dark, and she could see ghost like structures moving around. She missed her mom and papa dearly and was crying bitterly. Suddenly, like a whiff of hope, she saw everyone around her clapping around. It was DCP Satyajit Kapoor, with his group of policemen who had come to rescue them.
The next day, the followed Headlines hogged the limelight in all the daily newspapers.
“The case of the missing bogies enters its sixth day. DCP Satyajit Kapoor goes missing”
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