Shaitan of Sunderban 🐅




It was at cracking dawn that Shahej Mondol woke up, for his daily routine. As always he first checked on his 5 months old son, before starting off his day. Shahej had been profusley thanking God every single day for blessing him with a baby boy , after two failed attempts, resulting in girls. As he neared the bed , he had specially prepared for his baby boy, he saw pug marks on the ground. Screaming in horror he ran towards the veranda , only to find the body of his beloved in a mutilated and unmovable state thrown into the trees.

It was the early morning of 5th May 1992, Debnath had just finished his early morning jog,when he recieved a call, it was from the forest department informing to leave for Sunderbans ASAP. 
Debnath was an ageing war veteran,he had the distinguished honour to have served the country in both the 1965 and 1971 wars. With all the medals, applause he also carried a souvenir - a limping leg, due to a bullet wound. Looking at death in the eyes and punching it in the face was nothing new for Debnath. In fact he missed living on the edge so much, that he was more than happy to become a government-appointed hunter. So far Debnath had managed to kill 2 big cats, and he had developed a sort off liking for hunting. 


After two days Debnath reached the village of Joymoni near Sunderban. Jaffer the local hunter briefed him regarding the situation. 
Jaffer:- " Sir, there have been 6 cases so far , with the last one being a 5 month old baby"
Debnath:-"Any idea where was it last seen ?"
Jaffer:-" No Sir, no one knows when it comes, when it goes, it is a Ghost, Shaitan!!"



Hearing his trembling voice, and watery eyes, Debnath asked him to lead him to the site of attack. 
Shahej Mondol had been in shock, and inconsolable.Debnath took a look at the pug marks, as Jaffer put plaster into the pug marks to create a mould , to help them track the tiger. The pug marks were big justifying it to be a male tiger, also the claws were intact.

Debnath took a look at the pictures of the 6 people killed. Normally tigers attack humans, in case of an inability to hunt,due to an injury, like loss of a canine or damage to the claws. Maneaters usually eat the soft parts of the body like stomach, intensities due to the injury.To his shock,there were only teeth and claws marks on the bodies of the dead. It is very rare for a tiger to become a serial killer.He truly is the "Shaitan" thought Debnath.
As they readied their gear to leave for the hunt, Jaffer suggested to visit the Mata Kali temple on the outskirts of the village, it was a custom to visit the temple before the villagers left the village for their daily work i.e. fishing and collecting honey. As they took blessings, and were wearing their footgear, out of nowhere a man with torn clothes and bloodshot eyes appeared 
"সবাই মারা যাবে, শয়তান সবাইকে মেরে ফেলবে"
"everyone will die, The shaitan will kill everyone
He screamed. 
Jaffer said, "He is Matla the mad man, it is said that the Shaitan once saved him from being drowned."
As they moved forward, Debnath couldn't really digest of a situation where a serial killer tiger actually saving a humans life, could be a tale, or just Matla's imagination.

Hunting tigers takes days and sometimes even weeks. They are very much adapt to their surroundings and are so vigilant that they can sense an outsider entering their territory. Tigers are very deceptive, there are examples of tigers making sound of hyenas or even dogs to deceive the hunters. Humans have to work hard on themselves to become hunters, but tigers are born hunters.

Luckily it was May, and during the summer, there was only one lake where the tigers came to drink water. Also, the water was shallow, so that the tigers could easily check on the crocodiles. The hunt has to happen during the day thought Debnath, because the tigers are difficult to spot in dark, plus they are smart enough to know that humans can't see as clearly in the dark as they can.

As they waited in their machan, 200 meters, from the lake. Around 3.20 pm they saw the birds fleeing, also a crocodile sitting on the banks, dived back into the water, Jaffer nodded. As Debnath focused his .12 rifle, he saw a 250 pound, 8 feet long and 3 feet high magnificent creature, leaning with grace to drink water. This is no time to admire beauty, as he pulled the trigger, the shot disturbing the peace of the forest, as the tiger roared and vanished into the mangroves. 



Jaffer:-"Ya Allah! You missed"
Debnath getting up:-"I never miss"
He ran towards the mangroves, followed by a scared and sceptical Jaffer. They followed the pug marks, and also the occasional blood trail.
As it is known that a wounded tiger, is more dangerous, it had become all the more important to finish the hunt. As they pulled through, they saw the tiger lying near a tree, wounded and breathing profusely. As Debnath raised his rifle to fire the last shot, he saw carcasses near the tiger, these are remains of cubs and a tigress. However, Jaffer, finished the hunt, blessing the tiger with a merciful death.
Somehow, Debnath had never saw, read or heard of such behaviour by the naturally ferocious tiger. Citing his dilemma, Jaffer said, "I know what you are thinking, Sir...."

Jaffer continued- the Pandit of the Mata Kali temple had told Shahej Mondol, that if he wants a son, he should gift the blood of a male tiger cub to the Goddess. Shahej along with his 5 friends set out to find one. They came across the tigress and her cubs, the tigress wouldn't allow the hunters near the cubs, so they killed her, and then killed the cubs. It is no secret that tiger skin and remains fetch good value. The tiger after losing his family had turned into Shaitan, over 5 months he hunted all the 5 friends and ultimately the baby. 


Debnath roared "SHAITAN WHO?" 







Comments

  1. My first try at fiction 🙂

    ReplyDelete
  2. F*** i really don't believe....it is great.....must read

    ReplyDelete
  3. Addy Bhai...lockdown mei tu to jakkass author ban gaya...great wrting...feel proud.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Excellent story. Nicely written. Keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Seamless writing scary start clue in middle of story and ultimate finish by leaving the decision to readers Who is the Shaithan

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"U turn" -- Episode 1

Life enjoy Corona!!