TRAPPED
Ritu Siddharth
Anjali,Pratibha,Amala,Kirti,Mariya….ate, played , gossiped, moved about as a gang. They stayed in adjoining rooms in the hostel. Saturday was always their day out; Sunday to relax after the hectic Saturday.
They were in science group in Meenakshi Sundareshwarar College of Arts and Science for Women.
Saturday: They were up at 5. Finished breakfast by 7.30. hailed a share-auto at 7.40. “To Green Park”, Amala told the driver. Fare Rs.15 per head. They would have travelled 1km; Auto stopped. “Madam, shift a little to make room for a passenger”, driver said. A woman with a large bag tried to enter.
“Madam, 2 get down ; she’s bulky, let the little elephant get in, then you can get in:, he addressed Anjali and Kirti. The girls giggled at his joke . As Anjali and Kirti got down the fat woman got in, followed by Kirti. “Ok”, signaled the woman before Anjali could get in. The auto started at high speed.
“Hey, stop! Anjali hasn’t boarded”, Pratibha and Mariya cried out together. The driver did not appear to have heard. Mariya who sat next to him, shook him, “Hey stop, our friend hasn’t got in”. “What ?”he turned to her. “Stop!”, they cried in chorus. “ Sorry madam, I can’t turn here , it’s one way. Phone your friend to stay there , I’ll turn at the next intersection”, he pacified them. The girls waited but he did not turn at the bend . “Sir, drop me first , my stop is just ahead, the fat woman spoke. “Ok”, he responded.
“Get down madam, you can board after I get down”, it seemed a reasonable request from the woman. Kirti got down. The woman appeared to stagger under her weight. Kirti helped her to stabilize. Meanwhile auto began to move fast. Amala forgot her words in panic. “Anjali”, she yelled. Mariya caught his collar, “Hey what are you doing ? Stop you scoundrel!”, she screamed. He did not seem to heed. She sensed something was amiss. She signaled Amala to alert the police. The policeman was slow to respond. “We’re being kidnapped I think in auto..”, she spoke in hushed tone. “What mam, I can’t hear you”, came the voice. “Sir, we’re being kidnapped in auto, our 2 friends were dropped in different places..please help”, she spoke rapidly. “Where’re you at the moment?”
“We’re moving very fast..don’t know what place this is”.
The driver looked behind. He perceived what was happening and grinned. He drove faster. Then at a particular milestone where a man with yellow head band waited, he stopped; pulled out Pratibha from the back seat, snatched her mobile phone; Mariya got down with an intention to flea, calling out to Amala to get down; but before Amala could coordinate her movements , the driver drove off with her, “I’ll collect the money later”, he yelled to the man as he sped. He pulled out the sim card and threw it out as he drove past a bridge.
The man with yellow head band could not handle 2 brisk girls at one time; he held pratibha and let go Mariya.
Mariya could not give much details. She was asked to identify the driver from a list of photos. Just then she remembered the man who was sitting in the auto moved away when another man spoke to him in an unintelligible language and shoved a 500 rupee note into his hand. It struck her now the real driver of the auto was replaced by the criminal for a payment; that is why the criminal’s photo was not in the album.
He stopped , finally, at a remote open place; gulped down few sips of liquor. Amala stared in horror; tried to run; he seized her in 2 steps, tore her top, slapped her as she resisted.
“No darling , let me have a good time for 1 hr, I’ve been raving for days without a hunt. Be good to me , I be good to you, honey”, he drooled. “Get off you bastard!”, Amala yelled. “Uh, uh! Not so incensed”, he groped her. She writhed in disgust. “Now remove your inners “, he commanded as he undressed himself. She looked around for help. It was a wide stretch of empty land with patches of spiky short bushes here and there.. She tried to run. “Oh, oh! There’s nowhere you can escape honey; very rarely a lorry will pass by…if you’re good to me, you can get a lift in an oncoming lorry, or else no one’ll find you, you understand!”he spoke without haste. Her brain stopped to think. “How to escape?” was the only thought that came and passed intermittently. “Lie down beautiful, you kick my dormant desire”, he said , allowing himself to be roused slowly. He licked and bit her cheeks. She struggled. He slapped hard on her face that sent her reeling. She rose with difficulty and tried to run. He whipped out a knife, caught a tuft of her hair and waved the knife villainously. “ Quiet or this goes through your throat”, he muttered under his breath. She struggled. His knife swiped down her arm. Blood gushed out; before the blood spurted on the ground, he wound the wound with a stretch of cloth. She screamed with all her might. It was deafening. “Stop shouting”, he yelled back in anger punching a blow on her jaw. The poor girl was so fragile ,it dislocated her jaw. She writhed in pain. “ Be still and stop shouting”, he grabbed her hair and banged her head on the ground. By now the fight in her had subdued. He raped her…how long he was not aware…When he finished he looked down at her; her blood and his secretions on her legs and abdomen glistened under the sun. he looked a while longer; bent over her face, pinched her nostrils at their tips with one hand, smothered her mouth with the other. He waited, 2mins..3..4…5 mins. Her eyes closed, chest remained still, body changed to blue hue. He lifted the body, dumped it into the auto and drove farther away from the spot the friends had started, looking for a well all along. Finally: he removed the remaining clothes on her, the band he had tied round her arm, removed the jewellery , threw the body into the well. Soon it was out of sight. He washed himself.; bundled the clothes and drove on to the neighboring city, filled fuel; moved on further; stopped, walked some distance, dumped the cloth bundle into a trash bin , sprinkled minimal fuel and set it alight. He sat in his auto and watched for some reaction from the people ; none seemed to have any suspicion.
He drove to the roadside hotel.”Ah! what heat!” he exclaimed. “3 chappatis with mutton curry”, he ordered.
“Anjali wait! This’s oneway; auto’ll wind round the bend and come to you. Stay where you’re”, phoned Pratibha.
“Ok”, Anjali replied ,relieved. Anjali waited for 10 mins. There was no auto , nor phone call. She began to shift on her legs uneasily….8.05 am.
“Waiting for someone?”came a woman’s voice.
She pretended not to have heard.
“Waiting for someone?”repeated the voice
‘Yes”, she replied.
“I thought so…your auto’s waiting there, come with me”, she said. The girl walked behind her.
“I’m thirsty, let me have a drink”, the woman stopped near a shop.
The shop keeper opened a soft drink, put in a straw and handed it to the woman.
The woman turned for a brief moment, asked for a glass, poured a little into it, “Here, have a little to give me company”, she said generously. Anjali accepted though embarrassed a little. Soon she was following the woman for what seemed a long distance.
“It’s just round the corner; this’s one way you know”, she explained.
The woman assisted Anjali into a taxi, soon Anjali drifted into sleep. When she woke up she found herself in a strange atmosphere. Music was playing softly. She heard footsteps coming and leaving on the wooden floor, and muffled laughter. She was in a room big enough for a cot to fit in with a teapoy. The room was locked from outside.
A man about 40 yrs arrived around 3 in the evening. He grinned ; ran his hand all over Anjali. The girl moved away in disgust. “No baby, I paid heavily for you, you can’t disappoint”, he said removing his shirt. She was forced to drink…and it was over….
Days, weeks passed . Anjali encountered several men of all age groups.
The news of disappearance of the girls went round the hostel. The warden made a complaint to the police and informed their parents. Very soon the parents stalked the police station. The inspector who had till then taken little notice of the phone message from the girls, hurriedly made an FIR. Soon the DIG was informed and quickly enough the IG of Police. Teams were formed; strategies plotted; actions jotted.
A lorry driver talked of stench like that of a decaying human body arising some distance from the village . “Inform the police”, a man suggested.
The lorry driver approached the police station, “Sir , there is strong stench of decaying body 15 km from here, sir this’s all I know and I give this information. Now for God’s sake don’t drag me into this matter..I give my license no., lorry no. , my owner address, pray don’t harass me”. He was detained for 3hrs to note the information he submitted. The inspector eyed him with suspicion.
“I can read your mind sir, I could’ve gone without giving any information like any other. I needn’t have stuck my head into this . Sir don’t make me regret it. I’ll nevr inform anything if I knew any other matter anywhere, this I promise”, he swore.
“Ok, ok friend , don’t pull on a long face, you are free to go now, but come with us just once to show the place”, the inspector gave his best smile. The driver agreed instantly. He was given a good meal before starting.
The inspector and lorry driver set out equipped with 2 doctors and 2 sanitary workers from Govt. hospital, 4 laborers, a cot with legs pulled out , to lift the body.
It was a barren land with long disused well. Body was brought out. Doctors were ready with their masks on and writing pad. Sanitary workers started the postmortem. Photos from different angles were taken.It was a female body, in advanced stage of putrefaction. Her 3rd molars had not erupted. Bruise marks on face, back of scalp, thighs and abdomen; abrasive marks on cheeks ,nose, abdomen and upper chest stood out from the rest of the scarlet discoloration. Left jaw was fractured and dislocated; an incised wound 6cmx3cmx2cm on mid and outer aspect of left arm severing a big nerve and artery; large laceration in the vagina, yet another rent adjacent to it through which 25 cm small gut had protruded. The doctors shuddered. Internally the gut was contused, the spot corresponding to the bruise on the abdomen. They collected necessary smears and body parts for forensic examination. Her age as per her dental formula and secondary sexual characters was put as 16-18 yrs. Cause of death was asphyxia after infliction of severe wounds and rape. Death was timed to be 10-15 days prior to autopsy.The body was packed to be kept in mortuary till relatives claimed it if not, to be disposed after 10 days.
Inspector was confused. Naked body; teenager; threaded eyebrows, likely to have been a student or a working girl. Injuries pointed to infliction to intimidate. No blood stain around on the ground in the area. He looked for debris under her nails..nails were clipped short. He had to wait for forensic report. The assailant should have been a daring guy to have committed the crime in the open.
Months passed. Forensic reports were negative for semen or saliva… No suspects, no arrests.There was much hue and cry at public level. Amala’s parents could only take her body from the morgue and her belongings from the hostel; they were devastated.
Months passed. Police nor their dog made any progress in the case. Parents of the missing girls were at the point of exploding.
One day a young man about 20 yrs arrived. Anjali was sick. “I can’t take any more “, she wept.
“I want a help from you ,please,don’t refuse…you can take me, but please help”, she pleaded. She gave her details. She wanted him to carry the message to the police .
“How can I?”, he exclaimed aghast.
“You can send anonymous letter to police..please”, she held his hand and begged. She knew he felt sorry for her plight. He nodded.
Pratibha was taken to a similar place as Anjali, in the same city. She faced many ordeals. Months passed. She insisted on bearded customers. “I have deep passion for them”, she often said.
She had to wait long till one arrived one night. She went out ; had a short discussion with the proprietor . Pratibha told her the customer would leave early as he was a busy man, and she requested for a strong cocktail for him and rice with dal for herself and both be sent to the room. The proprietor was only too happy to hold the handful of currency bundle, she raised no further question.
Back in her room, Pratibha made him feel very comfortable ,that he was not aware how much he drank. She kept him occupied for the next 45 mins. Soon the man drifted into deep sleep. She removed his kurta and pyjama and put them on; she dusted charcoal powder on the cotton from sanitary pad. She applied rice on her face and stuck the prepared cotton beard; cut her hair short enough to tuck under a cap. She was satisfied with her reflection in the mirror. She closed the door and walked with a stiff gait. None doubted her guise in the dim light…she made a safe exit. She awakened an auto driver, “Have to go urgently”, she spoke covering her mouth with cloth to mask her feminine tone. The driver mistaking her for a customer to that area nodded understandingly.
“Yes sir, where to?”, he asked. “You go , I’ll show you the way”, she said and off they went away from the nightmare.
She got down few yards from the police station, paid the fare, waited till the auto was out of sight, walked into the police station. The constables were amused at her appearance. She patted the beard in a reflex, walked gingerly to the table and asked for the inspector.”Inspector isn’t here , he’ll come only in the morning. I’m on duty, tell me what you have to say”, the SI said.
“I want security first. I’m MSC.. student . I was kidnapped, I escaped from there”, she said hurriedly. “O my God! No don’t remove the beard, yo’re safe with it”, he said letting her into the lockup.
He phoned the inspector in charge of the case . Inspector Prasad arrived soon after. It was 2am.
The next morning she was sent to hospital for examination. She had contracted STD, was told to undergo treatment for a month.
12pm. Police received a cover… To police dept: Anjali, d/o Paramasivam,18yrs; student of Meenakshi……college for women, abducted; now kept in an enclosure and used for prostitution; site located in IV street, Rajabahadur colony in this city. Kindly take immediate steps to rescue her . Please donot reveal you got this message; it can cost me my life; hope you understand.
Inspector Prasad raked his head. He decided it was best to go as a customer. He took Anjali's stamp sized photo for reference.
Anjali was rescued and handed over to her parents. The brothel managers were hooked, they gave details of the party who brought them there; eventually they were nabbed.
Anjali was grossly malnourished and weak. She did not touch her parents when they rushed to embrace her. “No pa, I feel very unclean. I’m so happy I could see you again”, she said. Her mother prepared her favorite dishes. Anjali partook a little of each item.her mother was happy that she enjoyed the food she cooked for her.
“Don’t , let her rest tonight , we’ll talk tomorrow” , the father checked his wife. “Yes”, she agreed.
“Thank you ma, thank you pa”, Anjali smiled. “I want a separate room ma”, she made her request. Those words were the last she spoke. The next morning she was found hanging in the room.
Nothing was known of Kirti. She is suspected to have been shipped off to some foreign country.
Mariya discontinued her studies. Her parents took her away. She went daily to the church. “Lord, Son of Holy Ghost, the criminal should be caught and punished “, she prayed everyday.
2 months later, news in the 1st page along with the photo of the man, read, ‘Rapist nabbed . Admits abducting college and young girls, rapes and murders them or sells them to brothels for a sum; he admits doing such crimes meticulously ever since he was 17 yrs old’. An auto driver who knew him had tipped off the police.
A week later another news read, ‘Nagappan, the rapist found stabbed and killed and dumped head down into the drain by the road in the middle of the city’.
Mariya went to the church to thank the Lord.
…Concluded.