Murder Milestone by Salil Desai

Author:Salil Desai
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: FiNGERPRINT!
Published: 2020-09-08T00:00:00+00:00

“It would’ve been better if Dr Solanki had killed me, sahib. I would’ve been better off dead than leading this cursed life I have been forced to live because of this disgusting condition,” Baban Shigwan said, his eyes listless and defeated. “Look at me. I am like a human python that just eats and sleeps. Don’t know why God has given me this existence. I just ate in front of you . . . and now I feel hungry again, even as I am speaking, and in a few minutes I’ll be crazed enough with hunger to start begging for food, raiding, stealing, foraging, scrounging for it until I get some. Again and again, till sleep comes . . .”

He buried his face in his palms, overcome by self-pity.

Saralkar felt sorrier for him than he thought he would. Baban had just recounted how the condition had first manifested itself when he was just out of his teens after a bout of high fever and herpes zoster infection. He had started getting periodic episodes of insatiable hunger and excessive sleep—sometimes extending for weeks, a few times every year. Then the bouts became more frequent and longer with time. His life had started falling apart. From a hard-working, healthy, cheerful man he had rapidly transformed into a degenerate—a constant cause of trouble and shame for his family.

Between bouts, he would be back to normal for a while, even earning well as a civil contractor for a few years. The family-owned enough agricultural land and his uncle, two brothers, and two cousins, all lived together as a joint family with no serious disputes—farming on the one hand and also carrying on various other occupations on the side.

But soon Baban became too much for his family to handle during the bouts. That’s when he had started searching desperately for a cure. Every kind of cure was attempted, from visiting doctors in Wai, Satara, and even Pune, to visiting shrines and temples, as well as exorcism, fearing he might have been possessed. It was in this state that he had chanced upon Dr Solanki, who had gained a reputation in nearby villages.

Dr Solanki had told Baban that he suffered from a rare disorder called Kleine Levin Syndrome. Baban had repeated the name to himself and eventually learnt it by heart. Dr Solanki had then said that a new cure for the disorder had emerged recently which involved treatment and a small procedure. There was however only a twenty-five per cent chance of success. The treatment and procedure cost lakhs and could be done only in Mumbai and abroad. Dr Solanki had then cast his bait, claiming to be able to perform the procedure but unable to offer it officially since he was not a surgeon. If Baban Shigwan was willing to trust him, Dr Solanki was ready to perform the procedure for just two lakhs at his farmhouse. But total secrecy would have to be maintained and even Baban’s family members could not be taken into confidence.

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