Chapter 4: The Crowd Gathers
But the mother wouldn’t listen. She started clawing at us in a frenzy.
She lunged forward, nails flashing, nearly catching Arjun’s arm. The inspector and two constables had to pull her back. “Aapko samajh nahi aata kya?” she yelled. “Tum sab mile hue ho!”
My friend got scratched by accident, bloody welts appearing on his face, making him wince in pain.
A thin line of blood trickled down Arjun’s cheek. He wiped it, muttering under his breath, “Pagal hogayi hai kya?” I caught his eye—he tried to smile, to reassure me, but his jaw was tight with pain and anger.
I forced down my anger. “Madam, you need evidence to make such claims. You can’t just accuse people at random. Who molested your daughter? Say it clearly. Can you just slap such a terrible label on someone without proof?”
My voice came out shaky, but I tried to stay calm. “Madam, yeh sab aap bina saboot ke kaise bol sakti hain? Galat ilzaam kisi pe lagana bahut badi baat hai.”
“It was you!” The mother’s face twisted with rage. “You animal, you deserve to die!”
She spat the words, each one landing like a slap. “Kutte! Tujhe zinda jala dena chahiye!” Her voice was hoarse now, but she wasn’t finished.
The police tried to calm her down.
A lady constable held her back, murmuring, “Shant ho jaiye, madam. Aise nahi chalega.” The inspector motioned for another glass of water, trying to restore some order.