Chapter 41 The Hunt

• 31st December, 2019. 17:30 Hrs. Ghatiwade village, Dodamarg, Sindhudurg, Maharashtra:
• After playing hide and seek behind the trees for some time, the sun had finally decided to climb down the hills. It had been the last day of the year. At this time of the day the shadows quickly grew in length, colouring the landscape into deeper shades of grey. The black sky had worn a veil of mist and when winds blew through the branches of trees, it made a strange noise. As if a crowd of people were whispering into the air. To a lone visitor, lost inside the forest, it appeared like they were calling out his name. When the moon peeped out through the black clouds at intervals, the veil seemed to have got torn and white smokes swimming in like breaths of deceased souls. They now floated above the trees, descending down the next moment on the ground till the scattered pieces of white mist hid the black cloak filled with shimmering stars of an invisible magician, shrouding the hills in mystery. The krickets had started chirping in anticipation of the night. Dusk swoops down suddenly inside the forest, hardly giving one any time to realise the absence of sun. But the animals and birds know by their instincts.
• Three pairs of headlights could be seen in the distance moving clumsily in a zigzag line. In their effort to tear the darkness they illuminated a cloud of smoke and dust which had gathered in the air now. Visibility without those little advancing dots of light were almost nill. The barking of dogs were getting louder along with the sound of engines. As the headlights drew nearer they carried shapes of three forest jeeps, making their way through the rough winding road that led to the forest. There were three men in each jeep, besides the driver. Some of them held AK-47 in their hands, while others carried rifles. As soon as the vehicles came to a grinding halt, one man jumped down from each vehicle, followed by three german shepphards and started scanning the area. Flashlights scattered away the darkness and showed the pathway through bushes and trees ahead used by the locals for collecting twigs and dry wood. The men in police uniform followed suit along with the forest guards. A Divisional forest officer (DFO) Bhonsle led the expedition jointly with Asst. Commissioner of Police (ACP), Dodamarg; Mr. Rathi. At one point they stopped. According to the preliminary report the body of the girl was found at that place. Out of the three other policemen one was from Kolkata, who had reported two hours ago at Dodamarg P.S. After a brief meeting the delegation of police force had set out for the forest and joined the forest team.