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Saturday morning, Gurgaon ke EcoRidge Society ke clubhouse mein ek swanky wellness seminar ho raha tha — “Unlocking Inner Peace”. Pranit Sardesai, ek 52-year-old motivational speaker aur life coach, stage par tha, usual charisma ke saath bolte hue: “Inner peace shuru hoti hai jab hum andar ke rage ko chhod dete hain.”
Doosri line mein baitha tha Vikas Mehra, 45, ek reputed family lawyer, who didn’t seem particularly peaceful. Uske haath mein Pranit ka ek old email printout tha, jise wo session ke baad dikhane wala tha — ek potential defamation suit ka threat.
Session khatam hone ke 20 minute baad, Pranit unconscious milta hai backstage green room mein — ek stress-relief massage chair par baitha hua. Log soch rahe the, “Overexertion hoga.” Lekin Medanta emergency aate hi bolti hai — cardiac arrest. No toxins, koi physical trauma nahi. Death declared as natural.
Par ek cheez ajeeb thi — CCTV footage mein green room entry ka 40-minute gap tha. Us duration mein koi bhi andar gaya ya nikla nahi dikh raha. But chair ka angle pehle se alag tha. Society ke surveillance team ne bola, “Maybe camera ne auto-rotate miss kiya hoga.”
Dono din baad Vaani Kulkarni, green room cleaning staff, ne whisper kiya Vikas se — “Sir, session se pehle Pranit sir ka koi personal diffuser chal raha tha. Par jab room clean kiya, wo diffuser missing tha.”
Yeh pehla clue tha.
Vikas ne kisi dost se wellness event ke behind-the-scenes pictures nikalwaaye. Ek image mein, green room ke corner mein ek slim blue ceramic diffuser clearly nazar aa raha tha. Post-mortem reports mein kaafi vague lines thi: “Trace vapour inhalant with sedating properties.” Yeh diffuser hi missing tha.
Vikas society ke president Anuj Sircar ke paas gaya, jo seminar mein co-speaker the. “Anuj, CCTV mein 40-minute ka blackout kya coincidence tha?” Anuj uncomfortable ho gaya. “I don’t handle tech stuff. Maybe system overload.”
Tabhi Vikas ne Anuj ki ek old WhatsApp forward dekhi — “How to trigger anxiety attacks with essential oils.” He remembered Anuj had a failed startup — MindMuse — which Pranit once mocked publicly.
But twist tab aya jab Pranit ki wife, Renuka Sardesai, ne ek locked box recover kiya jo Pranit ke personal cupboard mein tha. Usme milta hai ek signed MoU: “Pranit and Vikas to start a mindfulness platform as equal partners.” Date thi 2 months ago. Par Pranit ne kabhi publicly announce nahi kiya.
“Woh toh issi week announce karne wale the,” Renuka ne kaha, “Vikas frustrated tha because Pranit kept delaying.”
Ab do strong suspects — Anuj jiska startup fail ho gaya tha Pranit ki wajah se. Aur Vikas, jise Pranit ne delay se side-line kiya.
Par phir third anomaly milti hai — diffuser brand trace hota hai: Breathalume. Aur Renuka ke last year ke birthday gifts list mein wo brand nahi tha, par kisi aur ke Amazon account se ek exact item same society address mein deliver hua tha — buyer name: Dr. Charul Rathi.
Dr. Rathi? Woh to ek alternative wellness expert thi, jo backstage pass holder thi. Usne diffuser Pranit ko gift kiya tha “for calming nerves”, but the model she gave had smart connectivity — it could be switched on remotely.
Logically tab sab connect hota hai:
1. Pranit had anxiety but also ego — refused medication publicly.
2. Dr. Rathi ki therapy clinics thandi pad rahi thi since Pranit’s rise as solo guru.
3. On seminar day, Dr. Rathi used the connected diffuser to release high levels of neroli-laced vapours spiked with respiratory depressants — an overdose for a heart patient.
4. Anuj distracted CCTV by “accidentally” overloading storage with a parallel session livestream.
Sab kuch staged tha to make it look neat – seated death, no physical marks.
But kursi ka reposition sanjha karta hai ek galti — jab kisi ne swiftly entry karke diffuser hata diya post-death, chair shift ho gayi. Aur yeh galti hi sab kuch kholti hai.
Police ne Dr. Rathi ko prime suspect banake arrest kiya, but Anuj par bhi accessory-to-murder ka charge laga. Vikas innocent tha — sirf expectations ka shikar.
Society wale keh rahe hain: “Yahan wellness ke naam pe killer therapy chal rahi thi.”
And the green room now permanently smells of neroli — a scent of twisted peace.
