The date was 9th August 2017. I still remember the day I received a call from my senior, Dushyant Agnihotri, in January, ordering an investigation into a person who had been under surveillance for six months. Despite half a year of investigation, the police had been unable to uncover anything concrete about him. Initially, there were speculations that Kaal was part of a Pakistan-linked terrorist organisation building a module in India. Given that he had been living comfortably in Delhi for decades, Kaal quickly became a top priority for the security agencies.
When Agnihotri sir called me to contact my team, I could sense the stress in his voice, clearly indicating that something was seriously wrong. I was on leave that day. My department has a strict policy of not disturbing any officer, regardless of their rank, on a day off. Sir broke the very rule he had implemented, which was highly unlike him. Realising something was gravely amiss, I immediately contacted Tushar, who was leading the team that day. When he informed me that they were all set to initiate the raid, I rushed to Deenbandhu Society on the outskirts of New Delhi.
Chapter 2 – The Opening of the Case
— Anurag (@LekhakAnurag) August 13, 2024
The date was 9th August 2017. I still remember the day I received a call from my senior, Dushyant Agnihotri, in January, ordering an investigation into a person who had been under surveillance for six months. 13/n pic.twitter.com/ZX1yrTc7fU
Before we proceed, some background on the case is necessary. A few months prior, Delhi Police received an anonymous tip-off that the owner of this gated society was living off the grid and had a suspicious routine. He had imposed strict instructions on the residents, forbidding anyone from entering or leaving the society between 1:30 PM and 3:30 PM. These instructions had been in place since 1992.
Moreover, although he stayed in the society for two hours daily, no one knew whether he had a room, house, or office there. His name, history, and family background were unknown to most. Despite all these red flags, no one bothered to inform the authorities about his suspicious lifestyle. Even the oldest residents flatly refused to speak about him.
Initially, the police thought he was merely a paranoid individual suffering from a mental disorder. However, when they attempted to investigate Kaal, they found no paper trail or documents that could reveal any details beyond his name and his connection to the society. He conducted all his transactions in cash, even after demonetisation. How he managed to survive without any documents was utterly baffling!
The police handed the case over to the MCIU in January. My team did their utmost to uncover details about him, but Kaal had no identification documents. There was no PAN Card, Passport, Voter ID, Aadhaar Card, or any other information about him. The society he owned was still in his father’s name, who had passed away decades ago.
This alone was enough to raise alarms, and we began investigating him more deeply, suspecting he was linked to a terrorist organisation. Interestingly, even our trained detectives could not obtain a single clear photograph of him. He always wore a hoodie and kept his face covered. He travelled in a car with tinted windows, which was illegal. He was doing everything that would make him the prime target of any security agency, yet no one had known about him all these years.
During the investigation, we contacted every national and international security agency to see if they had any leads on him, but all trails eventually went cold. We discovered that he had travelled abroad, but there were no travel documents or history—no passport, no visa, no records of where he went or why he went. This strongly suggested that he had travelled under a false identity, further solidifying our suspicions.
My team made every effort to speak with the residents of the society, but no one was willing to talk about him. No one even told us his name. There were over 400 houses, all identical in appearance. Each house had a thick, well-maintained garden surrounding it. We learned that every house had free electricity, free water, and minimal rent. Some of the residents were living for less than Rs 1,000 per month. The combination of these amenities and the fear of Kaal ensured their silence. But we were determined to uncover more about him.
List of Chapters:
- Chapter 1 – How It All Started
- Chapter 2 – The Opening of the Case
- Chapter 3 – The Raid Was an Eye-Opener
- Chapter 4 – The Horror Was Worse Than We Thought
- Chapter 5 – The Birth of a Serial Killer
- Chapter 6 – Kaal’s First Kill
- Chapter 7 – The Aftermath of Parents’ Death
- Chapter 8 – Shifting to a New House
- Chapter 9 – ‘Demolish it, rebuild it’ – The first step towards the haunting society
© Lekhak Anurag. Any unauthorised reproduction, personal or commercial, without permission is prohibited. For reproduction or commercial use of the story, please ping me on mailme[at]lekhakanurag.com.
Disclaimer: All the stories under #StorySutra are works of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The author does not intend to malign any individual, group, or organisation.
