Neelkanth: Truth, Lies, Deceit & Murder - Satyam Srivastava, Rajeev Garg
The First Case of Suryakant Singh
It began on a dusty Tuesday afternoon in Delhi—heat rising in shimmering waves from concrete, a lassi glass sweating on the desk, and Suryakant Singh staring at his very first file as a newly appointed CIU officer.
The case? A seemingly accidental death. The victim? Dr. Neelima Joshi—professor of mythology, an outspoken critic of the government, and a researcher deep into ancient scriptures and Vedic prophecies.
"Looks like an open-and-shut case,” his senior had scoffed, already planning tea. But Suryakant, still wet behind the ears and charged with purpose, noticed what others didn’t. A missing page from her research diary. A locket inscribed with a forgotten Sanskrit verse. And a smear of sindoor at a place where it shouldn’t have been.
Soon, the clues spiraled beyond the rational.
Neelima had been working on a controversial theory—that an ancient text predicted the rise of a leader who would rule with deception under the guise of dharma. Her death, Suryakant realized, wasn't just about silencing a scholar—it was about controlling a narrative as old as time.
From candlelit archives in Varanasi to underground political briefings disguised as bhajan sabhas, he was pulled deeper into a world where gods met greed. Each suspect quoted scriptures; each ally harbored secrets. His only guide? Neelima’s scattered notes and a whisper of intuition.
The deeper he dug, the more blurred the lines became between myth and motive. Was this justice, or was he merely a pawn in a much larger lila?
As the monsoon rolled into Delhi with its usual theatrical thunder, Suryakant finally stood before the truth. It wasn’t clean. It wasn’t convenient. And it could cost him everything.
But he smiled.
Because CIU’s fate didn’t rest in strategy.
It rested in one man’s unwavering belief that even in stories told a thousand times, new endings could still be written.
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