Chapter 3: The Nightmare Begins

——Seven corpses, including one boy and several girls, all with their eyes gouged out.

Early 1983, Rajpur—a small city in western India.

Rajpur, with its bustling bazaars, rickety tea stalls, and the constant cacophony of cycle bells and scooter horns, became the backdrop to a nightmare. People whispered to each other at chai tapris, mothers gripped their children's hands tighter in crowded mandis. It was as if a bhoot had settled over Rajpur—shopkeepers shut their shutters early, and even the local paanwala kept glancing over his shoulder.

Police officer Arjun had been called in to help solve a series of gruesome murders.

Arjun, a deputy inspector and criminal behaviour analyst at the state crime lab, was tall, ambitious, and determined to catch this cold-blooded killer himself.

He walked with the quiet confidence of a man who knew his worth. The constables eyed him with respect, hoping this city-bred officer could bring some relief to their sleepless nights. Constables sipped watery chai, eyes red from sleepless nights, while the old ceiling fan creaked overhead.

Before his arrival, three female corpses had already been found locally. The bizarre thing was: all the victims had their eyes gouged out.

People in the mohalla started whispering about kali jadu, black magic, and angry spirits. Mothers began hanging lemon-chilli totems at their doorsteps, seeking protection from the evil eye.

The first victim was a 13-year-old girl, stabbed at least 22 times. Her body, found in a patch of gulmohar trees on the outskirts, was badly decomposed. The police had no leads.

Her family—simple folk who sold vegetables at the market—were inconsolable. Her mother wailed at the police station, her dupatta soaked with tears, demanding answers the police couldn’t give. Her cries echoed through the chowki, mixing with the clatter of steel tumblers and the sharp smell of phenyl.