The First Case

Jeet Thakur Sahai had waited for July 10th, 2017 for quite a while. Finally he had 3 weeks of vacation and was looking forward to spend it with his brother Ravi and his family in London, England. Jeet was working as a research analyst with the Delhi Police for over six years. He was originally from Lucknow and his parents still lived there. Both parents had retired. Jeet would visit them every 6 months and once a year they would visit him in Delhi as well.

Jeet’s flight from Delhi to London was leaving at 2:35 pm. Everything was ready and he was now patiently waiting to board the flight at the airport. The flight was delayed about 20 minutes but then took off. The duration of the flight was about 6 hours.

Jeet enjoyed the dinner that was served. He liked the chicken tikka masala, rice and a glass of 7 Up. He thanked the air hostess Elizabeth. She had been very nice to the passengers. He thought he would get a little nap as the plane would be arriving in London in about 2 hours.

After about 27 minutes he heard a big commotion near the men’s washroom. The federal guards and airline crew were tending to an injured passenger. His name was Raman Shetty. His neck was bleeding and he needed first aid. Someone had struck his neck with a plastic fork with a lot of force. Raman worked for Deloitte and Touche in England and was returning to work with his colleagues. Their names were Jay Oberoi, Mithun Pandey, Chris Fernandes, Atul Banerji and Lalit Kohli. They were all sitting together and the agents were suspecting that one of them had assaulted Raman.

It all happened so fast that no one knew who did it. As the airline crew asked for a doctor on board, a doctor came to help them. Once the plane landed in London, Raman would be sent to the hospital there under police protection. Jeet went and introduced himself to the federal agents. He showed them his identification card and papers and said he would like to help them if needed. They thanked him and said that when the plane arrives in London, they will hand over all five suspects to the London police and let them know that Jeet wanted to help as well.

Once the planed landed in London, Raman was taken to the hospital under police protection. At a holding cell at the airport, London police officers Sergeant Roberston and Sergeant Flintoff started interviewing the five suspects one by one. Jeet was there to help as well, as the federal agents had introduced him to the sergeants. Jeet had explained his credentials and showed his identification papers as well.

The officer with Raman at the hospital called Sergeant Flintoff and mentioned that Raman said that he heard the words “Amma Yaar” from the attacker. As it was quite dark near the washroom he could not see his face and then Raman had fainted for a few minutes.

Sergeant Flintoff told this information to Sergeant Roberston and Jeet. Jeet found this information valuable and told this to both officers. He requested that he talk with the suspects individually as well.

He started interviewing the suspects one by one while both sergeants looked from outside the glass wall.

Jeet: “Jay, where are you from?”

Jay: “I am from Indore. How long will they keep me here? I didn’t harm Raman!”

Jeet: “OK, no problem. The police will have more questions for you. They will let you know what is next as they conduct the investigation here.”

Jeet: “Chris, where are you from?”

Chris: “I am from Mumbai. I want to leave! This is ridiculous. Why would I harm Raman? He was my good friend!”

Jeet: “The investigation is ongoing here and the police will let you know what is next for you.”

After doing similar interviews with Mithun, Atul and Lalit, he found that they were all from Lucknow. He knew that many people in Lucknow use the phrase “Amma Yaar” a lot. Usually it is not used in the other cities of India, unless the person is from Lucknow.

Jeet: “Mithun, I think you harmed Raman. Were you guys up for the same promotion and he got it instead of you?”

Mithun: “No, that is not true. Damn!! He was my friend.”

Jet: “Atul, why did you harm Raman? I thought he was your friend?”

Atul: “I didn’t harm him. Amma Yaar!! Why would I harm Raman? He is no competition for me!”

Jeet: “Lalit, why did you hurt Raman?”

Lalit: “I did not hurt Raman. I don’t like him. He is just a colleague. Man, I want to go from here!!”

Jeet went and told both sergeants what he had discussed with the suspects. He also told them that most probably Atul harmed Raman as he said “Amma Yaar” and that they should check for his fingerprints on the fork as well as do a more detailed examination of the case. He suggested that they keep Atul in their custody and let the others go but they would have to be under police surveillance until they had completed their investigation. Both sergeants agreed as they too were thinking on the same lines.

After a week, Jeet received a call from Sergeant Robertson. Upon the completion of their investigation, Atul’s fingerpints matched the fingerprints on the fork and they found out that Atul was very jealous of Raman’s success and that in a fit of rage, he attacked him. Raman was now better and had returned to his house. Atul was in prison as his court case would start in another 2 months for assault.

Sergeant Robertson thanked Jeet for his help. Jeet was glad that he could help and looked forward to the remainder of his stay in London with his brother and his family. After a few days he returned to New Delhi, India.