Blind Faith

Shivanando got up early that morning. He has to cleanse himself, and then he had to offer prayers to the Almighty..

Being the head priest of a temple frequented by a steady stream of devotees is no small job. Apart from taking part in the daily prayers, he had to supervise over many trivial details involving his religious association and he remains busy throughout the whole day.

Barely had he completed his ablutions, and was on the verge of setting out on his daily routine, a rap was heard on the door. When he opened the door, he found two policemen standing.

"What brings you here, Inspector?" Shivanando asked.

The Inspector replied, "Swamiji, I don't know whether you're aware or not, but a killing has taken place inside your temple. It seems that last night, someone has killed a small boy inside your temple. We would like to ask you a few questions regarding this. If you kindly ....

"Okay, please come inside," Shivanando said.

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"How did you come to know about the incident, Inspector?" Shivanando asked.

"An unknown caller rang us. We decided to probe the matter. After coming here, we went to the temple to authenticate. Much to our dislike we found that a boy has indeed been murdered."

"Ram, ram," Shivanando mumbled.

"What were you doing last night, Swamiji?" the Inspector asked.

"After having my meal around 9 p.m, I came to my room and took rest. Since then, I was in my room."

The inspector said, "let us go and see the spot once again. Let us see whether Swamiji can recognise the boy."

Reluctantly, Swamiji agreed. And the three of them left for the temple.

When they reached there, they saw a few people. Some policemen, too, were visible who seemed to be guarding the corpse. When they saw the Inspector, they gave a salute.

Swamiji remained transfixed for a while. It was difficult to discern whether he knew the boy or not. But his gaze was fixed on the lifeless body.

"Do you know the boy?" the Inspector asked.

Swamiji shook his head. "No, I don't," he muttered feebly.

"What will you do with him?," Swamiji asked.

"We will send the body for post-mortem."

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A few days after the incident, the police appeared to be still groping in the dark. They were at wits' end. The murderer seemed to have left no clue at all.

By now, the identity of the deceased has been estabhlished. His parents are inconsolable. They have lost their only son who was a school going kid studying in class VI. That fateful day, he had gone out to play in the evening and didn't return back.

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One day, the swamis of the ashram sat discussing the incident. Priyonando, Bholanath, Shivanando, Sanku Maharaj, Taraknath, Siddibaba were trying to untie the gordian knot.

Priyonando : "I think the murderer was an outsider. But how could he sneak inside escaping our sight?"

Shivanando : "Whoever has committed the offence is inhuman. My God, how can you kill such a small boy?!! And money can't be the motive of murder in this case."

Sanku Maharaj : "Rivalry can be a possible motive, but even if any of the boy's school-mates have committed the offence, they wouldn't be courageous enough to venture inside the temple and do such an act. Recently, though I have read in newspapers that even small boys are increasingly indulging in heinous acts of violence. It is due to the spate of violence in our society at large and also glorification of violence in the media. It's shuddery to even think of it."

Taraknath : "The boy's father may have some enemies. The act may have been committed as a revenge. I think the police needs to probe this matter in greater details."

Bholanath : "I know only one thing for certain. God will certainly not pardon anyone who can kill such an innocent boy. Even if the killer escapes, Almighty will certainly punish him."

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One day, Shivanando went to the police station. He found the boy's parents there. They were requesting the Inspector to bring the culprit to book.

Shivanando spoke. He said, "In our ashram, there're about 15 swamis. All of them are a suspect. They've all been grilled, and no stone is being left unturned by the Inspector to ascertain the truth. An outsider may even have committed the act. He might have surreptitiously crept inside the ashram at night, and slipped away after committing the heinous crime. However, the guilty will certainly be caught and punished. Be rest assured."

The boy's parents left after a while. Shivanando appeared grim.

"What has happened, Swamiji?" the Inspector asked.

There was no reply.

"Swamiji, what's the matter?," the Inspector queried again.

Shivanando quietly said, "Inspector, it was I who has killed the boy."

"What?"

"Yes, Inspector."

There was a paused silence. Then Shivanando said "Ma-Kali had appeared in my dream. She asked for an offering. She asked me for a human life. I had to obey Ma-Kali's wish."

There was a stunned silence.

Shivanando has been arrested. He is presently undergoing a trial.