PART-71

Long blades of golden grass danced to the tune of the gentle breeze,the air redolent with the heady smell of approaching spring.Khushi and her colleagues sat in silence as they waited for even teensiest of motion,staring unwaveringly at the grubby shack that loomed in the midst of the sea of gold and brown.

They didn't have to wait for long as Shyam Manohar Jha soon emerged sneakily, moving like a panther flexed for attacking his prey.He pootled slowly, lying low and nearly crawling,as he attempted to scarper,absolutely oblivious to the impending danger.

Suddenly he felt the a cold,metallic muzzle at the back of his skull and he stopped dead,his countenance acquiring a pallid pallor.

"Your time is finished Mr.Shyam Manohar Jha!Just surrender yourself if you don't want to die a terrible death!"Rohan's solemn voice sounded ominously loud in the serenity of the clearing.

Shyam rose slowly,his hands up in air as he took in his surroundings,his lips curling at the sight of his mistress who stood be khushi's side,shooting him a look of utter disdain and loathing.

"You bitch!You brought them here,didn't you?You bad-blood,useless whore!" Shyam snarled in crass fury,lunging forward to grab his mistress's throat,but he was brought shot be a blow,a sudden burst of light and he could see the world revolve as he fell down on the ground groaning.But that wasn't the end as soon he received another tight slap that left his teeth aching,he could feel something warm trickle down his chin and realized,with a jolt that his lips were half torn under the impact of the powerful slap!

Dazed,he looked up to see his attacker and was shocked to find a shivering khushi in front of him,but it wasn't fear that was the cause of her quivering form like he had seen a few months ago,but her ire that radiated from her like the power of the death itself!For the first time in his life Shyam Manohar Jha was frightened beyond his wits,that too because of a girl!

"You whoring scumbag!How dare you...how dare you accuse her,call her all that rubbish when you yourself behave like some kind of a bloody male whore!" Khushi yelled,making Shyam cower.Even her colleagues were stunned,rooted on the spot to see her angry avataar!

As for khushi,she couldn't see anything clearly as a red haze seemed to impediment her reasoning, ice-spiked adrenalin charged through her frayed nerves,at an unnerving pace.She wanted to rage and storm at the despicable man lying in front of him,she felt disgusting maggots crawling down her skin as he gazed up at her.But she couldn't do anything,for she had a responsibility. She was a police officer and hence couldn't take law in her hands otherwise Shyam Manohar Jha would've been long dead!

So Khushi took out her froutstion through her kicks and slaps that she ruthlessly showered on him.

"Khushi stop khushi!"

"Khushi you'll kill him!Just stop!"

Lavanya and Rohan tried to grab her back,but to no avail.It was as if she were possessed by the Satan himself!After a protracted period of struggle,the duo somehow overpowered her while a fleet of constables took a groaning and wincing Shyam away from her reach!

"Khushi calm down!"Lavanya soothed her,urging her to drink water.Khushi snatched the bottle from her hands and emptied the bottle in one go,panting heavily.

"Are you ok?"Lavanya asked nervously,and khushi realized with a jolt that she was frightened of her anger.

"I'm absolutely fine La!"Khushi mumbled,but still Lavanya and Rohan gave her anxious look as if expecting to see her fly in her apoplectic rage any moment.

"Seriously guys,I'm alright!Let's get back to work!"Khushi urged,leading the way.

The news of the Jha's debauchery stunned the world,but what evoked the most vehement reactions was what was found in their deluxe brothel.As the police forces along with S.T.F. searched the locked rooms of the lower landings,they found several young girls chained there,living in the most spartan and unhygienic conditions!They were clad in rags and lay unconsciously on the floor of the dingy cells which were frequented by the rats!There were several injuries and bites on their bodies as if their flesh had been clawed at and the cause were wild dogs!

The investigation revealed most gruesome,uncouth face of the human beings blinded by their greed as the girls narrated the story of horror.Apparently they were trafficked from various states,especially the backward and tribal areas of Jharkhand,Chhattisgarh and Bihar and forced into flesh trade!They were treated worse than slaves and were brutally raped and sodomized  by the staff of the brothel and if they resisted their inhuman demands,they were made to be bitten by wild dogs as punishment.

The world reeled in shock and people thronged the streets to secure death sentence for the culprits father and son duo and all others involved into the inhuman act.The news sang ballads of success of S.T.F. and heaped praises on A.C.P. Arnav Singh Raizada and his team,but the man himself stayed aloof from the frenzy and stole a romantic evening with his beloved,khushi in his farmhouse at the end of which he very conveniently proposed her.

"Khushi,I want to spend every moment of my life with you.I promise to cherish you throughout my life till my last breath!You are my everything,a part of me, so essential that I can't survive a moment without you.So will you honor me by marrying me and adorn my life with your presence?"ASR asked softly as he gazed up in khushi's eyes,holding a beautiful diamond ring.

"Yes!"Khushi chocked,absolutely overwhelmed by emotions.

"Thank you!"ASR whispered,his soft voice suffused with sheer joy as he gently slid the ring in the third finger of her left hand and rose up to claim her lips.

They had left the ordeals behind to stride in a new feature brimming with joy,hope and love!