Share This Article
Bangalore ka ek upscale co-working space, AltHaus. Saturday evening ko, TechTenn startup ke co-founders ki virtual strategy meet ho rahi thi. Sabne apne-apne laptops khola, green tea order kari, aur Zoom par aa gaye. Samarth (CEO), Mukul (CTO), Tara (CMO), aur Priya (COO)—chaar hi toh the core team mein.
Meeting thodi ajeeb thi. Samarth video par blur tha, jaise bandwidth ka issue ho. Uska mic bhi crackle kar raha tha. “Bad network,” Tara ne mutter kiya. Samarth ne ek baar haath hilakar signal diya ki woh sunn raha hai.
Agenda tha—naye investor ke saath deal final karni. Baat karte-karte achanak, Samarth ka video freeze ho gaya. Frame mein woh apne desk par gire hue dikh raha tha. Pehle sabko laga act kar raha hai—zoom fatigue and all. But jab Priya ne call kiya aur phone band aaya, sab panic mein aa gaye.
AltHaus ka security team turant Samarth ke cabin mein ghusi. Woh vaise hi pada tha—dead. Laptop abhi bhi open tha. Doctor ne confirm kiya—cyanide poisoning. Lekin question yeh tha: jab sab log Zoom call mein busy the, room locked tha, aur koi andar ya bahar nahi gaya… toh zeher kisne diya?
Investigation start hui. Sabka statement liya gaya. Tara pakki thhi ki Samarth ne coffee sip ki thi meeting se pehle. Priya ne yaad kiya ki Samarth ke notes mein kuch scribbles the unusual—”Don’t let her know” likha tha.
Security footage mein koi naya banda nahi dikh raha tha. Toh fir kisne zeher milaya?
Twist tab aaya jab forensic team ne bataya—Samarth ne kuch minutes pehle ek energy bar khaya tha, jo uske desk par tha. Wrapper ka barcode trace kiya gaya—wo bar usi din Althaus ke cafeteria se purchase hua tha, par ek minor detail dikkat de gayi. Billing machine ke report mein ek item tha jo public menu mein tha hi nahi: aap apne kharche par jo chaho add kara sakte ho, cafeteria mein personal orders accept hote the.
Aur cashier ka manual log batata tha ki Tara ne ek custom protein bar deliver karne ko bola tha, bina packaging ke.
Police ne cross-questioning mein jab pressure dala, Tara ne confess kiya. Samarth use personally aur professionally manipulate karta tha, aur naye investor deal mein uska stake almost zero karne wala tha. Usne cafeteria se trusted staff ke through custom energy bar banwaayi thi—with cyanide-laced nuts.
Aur Zoom call mein usne Samarth ka pre-recorded blurred video play kar diya tha, jisme woh random nods aur slight gestures kar raha tha. Real-time presence ka illusion create karne ke liye.
Samarth meeting join nahi kar raha tha—woh pehle hi dead tha jab sab Zoom call join karte. Masked glitches aur crackling sound us pre-recorded video ke flaws the, jise sab normal network issues samajh baithe.
Last mein Priya ne Tara se ek line boli thi jo sab kuch summarize kar gayi: “Virtual ya real, tu toh dono jagah game khel gayi.”
Case close hua, lekin industry mein woh Zoom meeting abb ek urban legend ban chuki hai—Online meeting mein bhi koi sach nahi hota.
