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Sunday shaam, ek upscale Mumbai building ke penthouse mein online Zoom condolence meeting chal rahi thi. Neeraj Bahl ke guzarne ke chaar din baad, uske office colleagues, college friends aur parivaar ke kuchh log virtually jud gaye the. Neeraj ek charismatic UX designer tha, jo kal raat apartment ke terrace se girke mar gaya tha. Police ne pehle toh suicide maana, magar kuchh contradictory signs mile the terrace par—jaise ki broken railing ke screws naye the.
Zoom call mein, host thi Neha Roy, Neeraj ki ex-girlfriend aur office ki project manager. Fatima Khan, Neeraj ki close friend aur YouTube vlogger, ek angle mein roti dikh rahi thi. Fir ek kafi serious face screen pe aaya—Ankit Deshmukh, HR aur Neeraj ka flatmate. Sabhi awkward the.
Neha ne meeting shuru ki: “Doston, Neeraj sirf ek colleague nahi, ek dost, ek inspiration tha. Uski yaadon ko yaad rakhne ke liye aaj ek chhoti si…”
Tabhi ek naya participant screen pe aaya: “Neeraj Bahl (HOST)”
Neha shook, “What the hell—?” Zoom pe ek recorded video chalu hua.
Neeraj ki awaaz: “Agar tum yeh dekh rahe ho, toh main zinda nahi hoon. Mujhe lagta hai meri maut koi durghatna nahi hogi. Shayad jise tum dost samajh rahe ho, wahi meri maut ki wajah banega. Main kuchh dinon se record kar raha hoon. Suno.”
Ek ke baad ek screen pe CCTV footage, screenshots aur phone recordings play hone lage. Ek video mein Ankit terrace pe nasha kar raha tha. Dusre mein Fatima aur Neeraj ke beech ek heated argument jisme Neeraj chillata hai, “Mujhe tere blackmail se farak nahi padta! Upload kar de sab.”
Teesri clip the most dangerous thi: ek screen recording jahan Neha aur Ankit Zoom chat pe baat kar rahe the during a team meeting.
Neha: “Yeh project agar Neeraj le jaata toh mera kaam gaya.”
Ankit: “Tension mat le. Terrace ki railing purani hai na.”
Neha: “Tu serious hai?”
Ankit: “Mujhe bolna mat pada. Bas screws loose reh gaye. Nature will help.”
Zoom condolence meeting mein hosh ud chuke the. Sabki aankhon mein dar tha. Neha ne video end hote hi meeting end karni chahi, par tab Fatima boli, “Main yeh Zoom call live stream kar rahi hoon, Neha. 400 log dekh rahe hain ab tak.”
Ek silence cha gaya.
Ankit ne Zoom se abruptly leave kar diya, par Fatima already police ko tag kar chuki thi. Neha ka face pale ho gaya. “Usne mujhe phasaya… main toh sirf upset thi… usne kuchh diya’sa naye screws!”
Post-investigation bata chala ki Neeraj ne apne macbook ki screen record feature activate kar di thi ek week pehle. Aur internal office chat logs ko retain karke ek hidden folder mein upload kar diya tha Google Drive pe, jo wi-fi jaate hi auto-share hota tha Fatima ko.
Neeraj ko shak tha ki koi uske khilaaf conspiracy kar raha hai. Par woh samajh nahi paya ki Neha aur Ankit milke uska career aur zindagi barbaad karne nikle hain, kyunki Neeraj ne ek confidential design reveal kar diya tha social media pe, jis se company ki IP under threat aayi thi. HR ne matter dhak diya tha, lekin Neha apni promotion miss kar chuki thi, aur Ankit ko warning mili thi. So instead of reporting, they decided on passive elimination—railing screws deliberately loose chhodna.
Murder tool? Technical hi tha—Timeline, Intent, Pre-planning with digital trail—all documented by victim khud.
Neeraj ke smart surveillance ka kaam aaya, par zindagi nahi bacha paya.
Fatima ne posthumous justice dilwale kaam kiya, aur livestream se live evidence preserve kar diya. Court mein recordings authenticate hui. Neha aur Ankit dono ko abetment to murder charges mein arrest kiya gaya.
Ek simple Zoom condolence call ban gaya ek damning courtroom drama ka pehla adhyay.
