NIRUPAMA

(Some Secrets May Better Remain Secrets Forever)

'I cannot bear this', 'I want to pluck my eyes out' only these two sentences were the clues which the late girl Nirupama left in writing one on a wall and one in a book quite unintentionally and involuntarily to know about the reason for her committing suicide. Her father Ranganath, detective Smaran and his niece Menaka along with Nirupama's friend Sukanya pretty well understood that Nirupama did not want the said secret to be known to anyone else. But since her father Ranganath hell bent upon knowing about the said secret, detective Smaran and his niece Menaka ruthlessly investigated the matter only to unearth the said ghastly, shocking and astounding secret which the dead girl terribly wished to keep only with her in her grave forever.

x x x x x

"Thank you very much. Anyhow, have you remembered anything important? Particularly of that day when you have seen Nirupama like that?"

"No. Sorry sister. I have tried a lot but could not remember anything at all other than that. That was all whatever I have said to you already, I remembered."

"Its alright. What we can do then? Forget." Hissing out heavily again Menaka said.

"I know that you asked me to come again only to ask about that."

"You are right." Menaka nodded her head.

"Sorry. I disappointed you." Bittoo said.

"Its alright. Never mind."

"I go home now. There is lot of home work I have to do."

"Sorry, I disturbed you." Menaka said.

"It's a pleasure talking with you." Saying so Bittoo started towards the door and suddenly stopped. He looked at Menaka and said. "I don't know whether it is important or not. But I remembered something."

"Tell me Bittoo... What it is?" Menaka asked him eagerly.

"But it is not about Nirupama."

"First tell me what it is?" Menaka became impatient.

"After Nirupama left on that day....after thirty minutes or so afte her leaving..... Niranjan uncle came out of that house."

Menaka at once became alert. Very important piece of information!

"Is it is true?" there was excitement in the voice of Menaka.

"Hundred percent true."

"Ranganath uncle was not in his home then?"

"I don't know. But I clearly remember seeing Niranjan uncle."

"Why that particularly you remembered him seeing on that day?"

"There is no particular reason but I remembered that." Bittoo said. "I knew him. Nirupama sister said about him and she liked him a lot. She said that he is a psychology professor and being impressed by him she joined in psychology postgraduation. "

"I see." Menaka nodded her head thoughtfully. She suddenly remembered "Did he wear his black spectacles then too?"

"Yes. He is. I never have seen him without those black spectacles. Why he wears them always? Now a day very few people wear those type of spectacles."

"I too feel wonder about it." Menaka said.

***

"It is indeed very important piece of information Menaka." Smaran said. "Niranjan came out of that house on the day the boy saw Nirupama left it with tearful eyes."

"Exactly." Menaka excitingly said. "Why he was in it on that day?"

"Niranjan is a family friend and relative to that family. There is no surprise of his presence in that house. But his presence like that in that house then might have something to do with Nirupama's depression."

"I am also feeling in the same way." Menaka said. "But I just don't know how can we find that out." Suddenly there was despair in her face.

"Don't lose hope. We are going to unravel this mystery." Smaran laughed.

"You do say this even at the last minute also. Are you going to ask for any time extension?" she irritated indeed.

"Not at all." Niranjan nodded his head in negation and said. "Just wait and see what happens. Tell me now how your hypnotism is going with that old woman?"

"Not very bad and not very good." Menaka explained to him how it was going.

"Good. Keep going on. It gives you the result."

"Niranjan also said the same thing to me."

"I think we both think on the same line on some matters."

***

On that day in the afternoon Menaka went to Sukanya's house and they both were engaged in talking themselves. Menaka said what Ranganath and Niranjan asked her to do and how she was hypnotizing Nirmala and then Menaka said. "Anyhow you have become an expert in hypnotism. I too want to be hypnotized by you."

Menaka frowned and said. "What you are talking? I am not an expert at all in hypnotism. Don't come to conclusions like that just because I have become successful in hypnotizing that Nirmala."

"Anyhow, how your treatment is going on? Could you be successful in that?"

"I cannot say anything about that. I am giving suggestions but I don't know whether her subconscious is accepting them or not."

"How complicated all these! Conscious, subconscious. What we are between all these?"

"Strange question indeed! Who is having these conscious and subconscious brains?"

"Me." Sukanya frowned and said.

"Who is this me?"

"This question never can be answered". Sukanya said. They both laughed.

"I just don't know time while talking with you. You have become such a good friend to me." Menaka said to Sukanya.

"The irony in this is Nirupama's death made us both friends. If Nirupama is alive on this day we both may never have met." Sukanya said.

"You are right." Menaka nodded her head. "But I wish Nirupama to be alive on this day rather than our friendship."

"I also wish in the same way." Sukanya said. "But nothing is in our hands. We are all puppets in the hands of fate."

"But it is not something done by fate. Nirupama brought it herself on her. If she thought atleast a little.........."

"Will you please stop that?" Sukanya angrily said. "You too very well know that there would be no use whatsoever in thinking like that. We don't know but something, something quite forceful made her committed that. We just cannot blame Nirupama that she committed suicide without knowing what exactly compelled her to do that."

"I agree." Menaka nodded her head. "We are trying our level best to know about the reason. But I am losing hope. I am not confident that we can know the reason within the time limit."

"The main thing here to notice is .........." Sukanya started " ..........many times we have said about this in ourselves and I am saying again. Nirupama did not like that reason to be known to anyone. She wanted it to be buried deep with her in her grave."

"May be you are right. But when her dad is adamant to know about it, there is no option to us. We have to do something with the clues she left." Menaka hissed out and said.

"Are those clues at all? We cannot go anyhwere with the help of them." Sukanya said

"I cannot bear this.' and 'I want to pluck my eyes out' these both are the sentences she left willfully or un-willfully. Cannot we make anything out of these?" Menaka said. "Just try and see once again."

"I cannot bear'. What she cannot bear? Is it is some pain? Some insult? What that she cannot share even with her own parents?" Sukanya puzzled.

"I have to say the same thing again. Was she raped or gang raped? Was that she could not share even with her own parents?"

"Considering the same things again and again may be necessary." Sukanya sighed heavily. "But her post mortem report revealed nothing like that has happened on her." She paused a moment and before Menaka saying again she said "Oh, I forgot. You said if something like that has happened some fifteen days or so before she committed suiside, it could not be revealed in post mortem."

"Then was she raped or gang-raped by someone and as she could not bear the feeling committed suiside like that after fifteen days?" Menaka knitted her brows together.

"I already said this and I have no objection in saying again." Menaka said sighing heavily "Non one knows Nirupama well than I. Of course if something like that has happened on her, it hurts her very much. But I don't think that she would commit suiside like that. She sure would let those rascals to be hanged before committing suiside. Even it is such type of a thing she sure would discuss that with me. No it is not something like that made her so."

"What's your opinion on that Niranjan?" Menaka laughed. "I am asking the same thing again. Just see if your previous opinion may change."

"My previous opinion never changes. He is a very interesting person and Nirupama and I also respect him a lot." Sukanya knitted her brows together as she could not understand what Menaka wanted to know.

"Yes, you said to me. Nirupama respected him a lot and treated him just like her father. Don't get irritation but I express my old doubt again. Until we unearth the truth, we have to consider the same things also again and again. When her feeling on him was like that, if he did something on her, I mean rape or rape attempt, is it would not be a sufficient reason to her to be depressed herself too much and commit suiside like that? She could not share that with anyone else also. How she can say to anyone that someone whom she treats just like her father has raped her or made a rape attempt? It would have happened somedays before her post mortem and could not be found out?"

"Even however much important it is to consider the same things again and again, I don't like it." With lot of anger in her face Sukanya said "I am giving the same answer to you. Niranjan is a very respectable person and he never does such type of a thing to any girl not to say on a girl whom he considers like his own daughter."

"Keep your emotion under control and try to think reasonably. There are people who appear so good outside but do bad things all the time. This Niranjan also might be someone like them." Menaka said.

"If something like that has happened in the hands of Niranjan to her, I am sure she would not have behaved like that with me afterwards. I said I talked with her over phone and I could not discern any difference in her voice. Of course, I was not particular then to discern any difference in her then but if she was raped in the hands of that Niranjan or some attempt like that happened on her by him, she could not conceal it like that. Not just that....." Sukanya paused for a second before saying. "Her parents also could not see any difference in her. Are you thinking that she could behave that usually with her parents if she has been raped by that Niranjan or faced some misbehavior from him?"

"You are right. I agree with you. That Niranjan may be a clean personality." Menaka nodded her head. "Then what cuased such a feeling in her?"

"Rather than dwelling on that all the time, we think about the other sentence she left 'I want to pluck my eyes out'. Why?"

"More puzzling than the previous one." Menaka breathed heavily and hissed out. "Why anyone does want to pluck out his or her own eyes?"

"We are asking ourselves the same questions again and again."

"No way. We must do this if we want the answer and if we want to solve the mystery. You are my close friend. Please help me in solving this."

"I do help you all in my capacity to solve this mystery."

"Is it is because of some unbearable pain that she did want to pluck her eyes out?"

"If it is like that she would have told it to her parents and me also. There was no necessity to keep it a secret like that."

"Of course you are right." Menaka nodded her head. "Why cannot we come up with a better answer for this?"

"Just because there is no better answer to this I think" Sukanya said.

"I almost forgot to tell you a very important thing." Menaka said suddenly. "I have talked with that boy Bittoo again. A very important thing came into light." She already told Sukany about her talking with Bittoo.

Sukanya made herself straight in her chair. "Tell me what it is?"

"After thirty minutes or so on that day Nirupama left the house, Niranjan came out of it."

"What? Is it is true?" Sukanya startled on hearing that.

"Hundred percent true. Bittoo remembered it very well. He very clearly saw him coming out of that house."

"He is their family friend. He went to their home many a time before also. We need not feel surprise if he came out of that house on that day." Sukanya said.

(..........to be continued)

(I hope you enjoyed it so far. Please don't forget to rate and review it. I update the next chapter as early as possible.)

#investigation #detection #psychology #hypnosis#hypnotism #love #romance #romantic #suspense #thriller #sentiment #family#suicide #psychology #hypnosis #self-hypnosis #psychiatry #psychiatrist