When Radha went back to college… (Part XI)

I penned this story, When Radha went back to college… (Part XI), as a Guru Dakshina to all my teachers and professors, some years ago.

When Radha went back to college… (Part XI)

“Ma’am, other than the sim card, I couldn’t find anything, yet.” But, Radha did not sound dejected. “I still have to think up something to investigate the murder. And I have to be discreet.”

“Take your time, Radha. You are doing well.”

There were two possibilities in the given situation. One said that Shekhar had dropped the sim card by mistake.

The second possibility asserted that it was planted by someone else, most probably the murderer, after the police had searched the crime scene. That meant that Shekhar was being framed by someone! That could mean an enmity or even throwing the suspicion on her friend. If we took up the first possibility, Shekhar could have dropped the sim card when the crime had occurred. That could mean that Shekhar was the murderer. But he had the sim card with him, when she had come to Noida. So, that was ruled out.

There was another possibility opened up, Radha realized. A criminal returns to the place of crime. Shekhar could have gone back to the place to pick up something he had perhaps dropped during the crime and had dropped the sim card by mistake. Logic told her that if Shekhar was the murderer, he wouldn’t be an idiot to drop a thing like a sim card and turn all suspicions to himself. Besides, that did not seem to be a possibility because mobiles were made in such a way that the sim cards did not fall out so easily. But that did not mean that Shekhar was above suspicion.

Anyways, though she still considered Shekhar to be innocent, she thought she should keep an eye on him.

****

It was he who mentioned the loss of his mobile to their group when Radha was present, the next day. “I lost my mobile but I don’t know when and where. I had to buy another one, yesterday. Save my new number…”

That made her all the more suspicious of him.

To be continued…