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Delhi ke outskirts mein ek wellness startup tha — MindBend. Yeh corporate retreats aur guided meditation livestreams host karta tha high-net-worth clients ke liye. Saturday ko ek khaas virtual workshop planned thi, “Healing the Executive Mind”. Join hone waale speakers mein ek tha Ayush Kohli — 42 saal ka tech CEO, jo recent IPO ke baad spotlight chhod ke mindfulness teacher ban gaya tha. Uski story viral thi. Lekin us raat 9:02 baje, Zoom meeting mein sabke saamne, Ayush ne phir se spotlight le li.
Uski video-feed mein woh lotus pose mein baitha tha, chhote mandal ke centre mein. Background soft Tibetan bells aur low ambient light. Participants mute par the, sirf reaction emojis jaa rahe the. Lekin 9:05 pe Ayush ne aankhein kholi, ek shaant si muskaan di, aur bola: “Creative destruction begins within.” Uske baad usne ek vial khola, kuch piya, aur video freeze ho gaya.
Zoom pe sab confuse the. Kya ye script ka hissa tha? Kisi ne bola performance art lag raha hai. Lekin jab 20 minute tak koi response nahi aaya, MindBend ke co-founder Bani Kapoor ne emergency contact ko phone lagaya. Ayush ka home caretaker live stream dekh raha tha. Jab woh cell se bedroom gaya, Ayush thandaa para tha floor pe.
Autopsy ne confirm kiya—cyanide poisoning.
Police ne initially suicide maana. Par kuch cheezein match nahi karti thi. Vial pe koi finger print nahi tha. Aur camera angle slightly off tha, jaise kisi ne Zoom ke liye uska laptop manually align kiya ho.
Is virtual room mein 12 log the — sab profound spiritual seekers ya industry ke stressed executives. MindBend ne poora Zoom recording police ko diya. Lekin gallery view mein sabke face largely static the. Koi direct evidence nahi tha. Sirf Ayush ki ek line: “Destruction begins within.” Lekin woh line uske earlier podcasts mein bhi thi.
Inspector Meenal Rao ne MindBend ki founder Bani ko gently counsel kiya. Kuch thande facts: Ayush ne recent flat Delhi NCR mein sell kiya aur saara paisa MindBend ke crypto trust mein daal diya tha. Accidental trust transfer? Altruism? Ya pressure?
Aur phir ek anomaly pakdi gayi: Participant list mein ek naam tha “S. Anand” — koi industry person nahi, aur unka video off tha poori livestream mein. Jab email trace ki gayi, woh ek disposable burner ID nikli. IP address Rishikesh ka tha, jahan pehle Ayush ne ek retreat attend kiya tha. Lekin MindBend ne unhe invite nhi kiya tha.
Yahan se Meenal ne dhyan chadhaya uss Rishikesh retreat par. Wahaan Ayush ka ek meltdown hua tha. Usne public statement diya tha retreat ke fake logon ke against. Ek local guide ne bataya ki Ayush ne tab ek female guest pe misconduct ka allegation lagaya tha, par woh baat press tak nahi gayi.
Mental health se jujhte Ayush ko tab Bani ne MindBend mein merge kar liya tha. Tab se woh face ban gaya tha brand ka. Lekin us Rishikesh guest kaun thi?
Meenal ne AI-backed facial matching run karwaya Zoom participants ke upar using old social media photos. Surprising match—participant “Niyati” asl mein Shruti Anand nikli, jiska naam S. Anand ke email se milta tha.
Shruti, ex-stage actor aur spiritual blogger, Ayush ke retreat scandal ka dusra chehra thi. Jab police ne usse grill kiya, usne kaha: “Main Ayush se sirf closure chahti thi.”
Lekin forensic team ne Ayush ke laptop pe found ek AutoHotKey script — scheduled task to turn on Zoom, activate video, run recorded loop for breathing and chants — and then shut off.
Yeh discovery ne sab kuch palat diya.
Actually, Ayush ne khud nahi kiya tha Zoom join. Woh pehle hi dead tha. Livestream ek illusion thi jise kisi aur ne control kiya — likely Shruti.
Aur twist: Shruti ne confess kiya ki usne Ayush ke subconscious se manipulation ke zariye usse “pre-scripted spiritual suicide” mein push kiya. Months of emails, scheduled retreats, dream visualizations, aur healing simulations — jo sab subconscious guilt reinforce karte rahe.
“Maine uske haath se poison nahi diya,” Shruti ne kaha, “maine sirf usse itna believe karwa diya ki death ek spiritual elevation hai.”
Legal grey zones mein atki investigation mein Shruti physical evidence ke bina nikal gayi. Par MindBend band ho gaya, aur Ayush ki story sirf ek digital fable reh gayi — jisme real killer camera ke peeche chhupa tha.
Aur screen pe sirf ek tihari line: “Destruction begins within.”
