Mystery unfolded

Bathery Police Station ************************************** “Greetings…. Bathery Police Station….” “∞∞∞∞∞” “Sir…” “∞∞∞∞∞” “Sir…” “∞∞∞∞∞” “Okay sir… “ “∞∞∞∞∞” "Okay sir" By the time the call was disconnected, CPO Rameshan's face had turned pale. "What are you so worried about, Ramesha?" “What can I say, Rametta? CI Sir called… You are lying in a broken room, beaten up. With your friends… Call me now and tell me to bring you another full meal. I have already finished 2 meals…” "Did you experience it? Didn't you walk around holding on to the possibility of every single thing?" Since what he said was true, Ramesh had nothing to say in response. "Stop and don't dance. Go, take the car, it's raining outside. And don't stop in front of the bar with anything." "Okay, Rametta." From the constable who joined the department yesterday to the higher-ups, SI Ramakrishnan is called Rametta. Ramettan has only 2 more years to retire. In his 25 years of service, Ramettan has never spoken ill of anyone. He has always helped as much as he could. Ramesh returned in half an hour. "Are you here?" “Mmm.” "What, go and listen to him." "What can I do, Rametta? Every misfortune... I said it was too late to give you the goods. It's not enough that I came to the queue in this heavy rain and brought my uniform." "Mmm. Oh well. I'll be right down. If you need anything, just call. I'll meet you at the quarters." "Okay, Rametta." "No, where's our boy? Praveen." “They are sitting outside watching the rain… even enjoying the music of the rain. Each one.” "Hey, let's go, kids." Praveen is enjoying the rain with a steaming katana in his hand. Praveen joined the force four months ago as a probationary SI after completing training. "What, Praveen, haven't you been able to enjoy the beauty of the rain? It's been a while since you've been here." "No matter how much you see this rain and the beauty of nature, Varula Rametta. In a way, I was happier than getting a job when I found out that my first posting was in Wayanad. Why don't you explore all this? The only problem is that I don't have a group." “Ah, now when Mom calls, tell her to look after a girl. Then we can have a group to watch the rain, to give her a bath, to climb the mountain, etc.” "My dear Rametta... don't be rude. Let me enjoy this life alone for a while. What I said is the matter here..." "What's the problem here?" "Oh, didn't you go inside now, Ramesh? You once told Pulli without realizing it. He said he felt like getting wet from a heavy rain. He looked at me with a look that was burning. What kind of person is he? The rest of us are just like that." "When you say 'this rain, river, mountain, forest', what do you tell the kids? They're in that chill-out, freak-out mood. That's because you're on the safe side of all this." Our Rameshan's family home is on the banks of the Kabani River. Every year, when the rains are heavy, his father, mother, Rameshan's brother, and his family come to stay with him in the quarters here. Two years ago, Rameshan lost his father, mother, and his brother's family in a landslide caused by untimely rains. Only Rameshan's brother survived that day. "I know, Rametta." "It's not that everyone can't enjoy the rain and the river, but it's not that everyone can enjoy it." “Mmm” "Okay then. I'll be down. It's eight o'clock. Call me if you need anything..." “Okay, Rametta. Good night.” “Good night.” Even though Ramettan was gone, Praveen was reluctant to leave the rain, melting in the cold. But his mind was full of thoughts about those who had lost their lives and livelihoods to the vagaries of nature. Not even ten minutes had passed. An auto stopped in front of the station. A woman, extremely nervous, got out of the auto and went inside the station. When the woman's face and gentle expression began to irritate Praveen, he got up and went inside the station. The woman, sitting in front of the writer, is crying even more than she is talking. "What's up, Peter, what's the matter?" "Praveen sir, this is a missing person case. This woman's daughter hasn't come home from work yet." "What's your daughter's name? Where do you work? What time do you usually come home?" "My dear Praveen sir. If they say anything openly, you'll know. They've been crying since they came. This is exactly what I guessed by putting together all the bits and pieces of what they said." “No problem, I’ll ask. Peter, go get a bottle of water, and call the female CPO on duty, if you can.” They started talking, either because of Praveen's intervention or because of the comfort of having a woman nearby. "My husband died in a landslide 5 years ago. I have two children, the eldest is a girl named Devayani and the second is Mona. My son works in an IT company in Bangalore. Molivide works as an accountant at Irumbanam Plantation. He usually reaches home around 6:30. If he is busy with some work and is going to be late, he calls me. " "Didn't you call your daughter over when you saw it was getting late?" "When I didn't see him even after the scheduled time, I called back and found..that the phone was switched off." "You call me that, sis. Did you ask the people who work with your daughter?" "I called them all, sir. I didn't tell them anything." "Mmm, do one thing. Write down all the details as a complaint... Give me your daughter's photo, phone number, and the numbers of those who work with her... We can investigate." "Sir, my daughter." "Calm down, sister. Let's see." I called Praveen,Ramettan, assigning the writer to collect the details. Ramettan answered the call on the second ring. "What is it, Praveen?" Praveen told Ramettan, summarizing the situation. "Okay. I'll be back in 10 minutes…. You do one thing, call the cyber cell and ask them to get the last location of that kid's number. Also, ask them to check the call list for the last three months. And the numbers of those who work with them. Then call the control room and find out if any missing cases have been reported at any other station today, especially the young man." "Oh, Rametta." “Praveen, what’s wrong?” "Rametta has collected all the details. The cyber cell has been informed. No case has been reported to any other station. When I spoke to my mother, I came to know that she is not close to anyone... if she was, my mother would know." "Okay, okay…." Ramettan and Praveen pacified the mother and sent her away. According to the information received from Cybercell, the phone was active until 2.05 pm. At that time, Devyani's location was in the office. "Did you check the call list, Praveen?" "Rametta, there's nothing suspicious about this. And there's one more thing, Devayani has been sending 3-4 messages to a number daily. For the first time, today, around 2 pm, Devayani received two messages from that number." "Did you check who that number belongs to?" "That's the CUG number in the name of a company called Irumbanam Plantation. You'll only know who's using it if you check with the company." "Then why don't you wait until tomorrow? Do something, call me, and tell me something else." Praveen called, but the phone was switched off. "Praveen, do something. Don't you have the details of the people who work with Devayani? Why don't we go to the house of the person who has a house near here?" "If that's the case, the house of the staff named Neenu is near here, so we can go there. Devayani and Neenu usually go there together." "Okay. Let's go see them in person. They might be able to tell us who this number belongs to. And maybe get some other details." “Oh, Rametta” Hearing the ringing of the bell and opening the door, Neenu was initially shocked. It took some time to recover from the shock of seeing the police in front of the house at such an untimely hour. "You too, right?" “Yes, sir.” "Don't be afraid. We've come to find out some things about Devayani. Why don't you come inside?" “Come on, sir.” "It was part of the investigation that we received a complaint that Devayani was missing." "Devoon's mother called in the evening." "I know that Neenu and Devayani usually leave the office together. Didn't you look for them this evening?" "Devu had a half-day off today. He said he had to go to the bank in the afternoon." “Which bank?” “SBI Bathery. “ "Do you know why you left?" "Something about the loan. I don't know exactly." "Okay, one more thing. Is Devayani having an affair?" From what Neenu had learned about Devayani, there was no possibility of her running away. Devayani was a poor woman living for her mother and younger brother. "Would you like to see if you know this number?" “Sir, this is the office number.” "Who uses this?" "This was used by the MD's PA. That guy resigned 6 months ago. It seems like it's in the manager's hands now." "I don't know the correct one, sir." “Okay, Neenu. If you remember anything more than what I said, call me. Note down my number.” "Okay, sir, what's your name?" “Praveen.” Praveen released all his pent-up anger. I loaded the jeep inside and drove straight to the entrance. The front door is locked. "Open the door," Praveen said to the security guard. "That's for the manager, sir." Praveen's face changed, and without finishing what he said, he took out the key and opened the door. Although the entire office, especially Devayani's seat, was searched, nothing special was found. "Where is the key to the manager's room?" Praveen turned to the security guard.