Share This Article
New Delhi ke ek posh flat mein ho rahi thi Tara aur Kunal ki virtual shaadi. Lockdown ki wajah se sab kuch Zoom call pe plan hua: pandit se leke mehmaan tak sab online. Bride ki mami – Shakuntala aunty – har chhoti baat record kar rahi thi apne YouTube channel ke liye: ‘Shaadi Se Secrets’. Total 72 log Zoom pe connected the, sab apne-apne screen se doli uthne ka wait kar rahe the.
Sab chill chal raha tha. Phere ho rahe the, ladki ro rahi thi (thoda zyada melodramatic), aur chat box mein log laddoo ki emojis bhej rahe the. Tabhi kisi ki screen pe ek loud scream hui – aur ek screen blur ho ke black ho gayi. Fir kuch seconds baad wo screen dubara chalu hui, lekin usme sirf ek khooni haath dikha, aur kaafi darrawani silence.
Shaadi ruk gayi. Log confused ho gaye. Sab chillate hue Zoom se ya toh exit kar gaye ya mute pe investigative theories chalne lagi – ‘Kya kisi ne koi prank kiya?’, ‘Yeh toh definitely ek scripted stunt hoga’. Lekin shaam ko pata chala ki Kolkata mein Zoom ke through shaadi attend kar rahi Tara ki cousin Meera – who was alone at her flat – had been murdered. Live. Sab ke saamne, but unnoticed by most.
Meera ke screen pe kuch seconds ke liye camera off hua, aur dubara on hone pe ek khooni haath aur thoda blood. Par kisi ne serioulsly nahi liya. Sab soch rahe the Zoom filters ya kisi ne mischief kiya.
Kolkata police ne investigation start kiya. Flat locked tha andar se. No sign of forced entry. Meera ne Zoom pe bridal makeup kiya tha – same blue saree, gajra, sab kuch, camera-friendly. Par forensic team ko ek chhoti si cheez mili – uska phone kisi aur room mein mila jisme mic chalu tha. Recording ne reveal kiya ek khatarnaak baat.
Recording mein sunai diya:
“Tu sochti thi main bhool gaya? Par main toh har shaadi record kar raha tha… tujhe dekhne ke liye, repeat pe. Aaj tune hi invite kiya zoom link bhej ke… toh maine socha tujhe shaadi gift de hi doon…”
Meera had an ex – Jatin – ek struggling stand-up comedian, jiska obsession Meera ke saath college se tha. Use she dumped teen saal pehle jab usne creepy videos aur violent jokes upload kiye the. Uske baad Meera ne usse block kar diya tha.
Par twist? Jatin Zoom pe toh tha hi nahi. Link open kiya tha kisi unknown angle se, par uska video feed kisi ne join nahi dekha. Kya woh 72 logon mein chhupa tha?
Shaadi ke Zoom recording labs mein bheji gayi. Tech team ne ek disturbing discovery ki – koi AI software use hua tha kisi doosre guest ke feed ko hijack karne ke liye. Screen jis waqt blackout hui thi, camera swap occurred, ek pre-recorded ‘murder video’ overlay hua tha, jo sabko live feed lag raha tha. Original murder toh kuch aur waqt pe hua tha, shayad shaadi se pehle.
Police ne Zoom guest list verify ki, aur ek naam disturbing nikla – ‘MRSingh_402’. Koi real guest nahi tha. Video ke backend se pata chala, ki ye virtual handle kisi cyber café se login hua tha. Aur IP trace karte-karte wo ek person pe aake ruk gaya – Tara ke dulhe, Kunal!
Final twist? Kunal aur Meera secretly engaged the ek time pe Delhi University mein. Kunal wanted to marry Meera par she dumped him after finding out he had a criminal record. Kunal ne Tara ke saath shaadi isliye ki kyunki Meera Zoom attend kar rahi thi… live revenge.
Par usne Jatin ke obsessed identity ka use karke sabko confuse kiya – usi ke tone mein AI se voice generated confession banaya, aur sabko us direction mein ghumaya. Murder pre-recorded tha. Meera ko shaadi ke ek din pehle mara, par video cleverly Zoom interface pe overlay hua ek extension se jo usne develop kiya tha – being a cybersecurity consultant.
Last mein, Tara ne poocha: “Tumne mujhe sirf Meera ke liye use kiya?”
Kunal bola: “Har shaadi mein koi na koi sacrifice karta hi hai. Maine dono ki ki.”
Police took him away, but Zoom recording still viral thi.
Log ab shaadi pe trust nahi karte – Internet pe connection strong ho ya na ho, trust ka signal pakadna mushkil hai.
