Kolkata’s policemen turn crime thriller writers on Facebook

KOLKATA POLICE HAVE BEEN PRESENTING GRIPPING TRUE CRIME STORIES ON THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE EVERY SUNDAY SINCE JULY

KOLKATA: Scene: Howrah Station. Time: A winter morning in 1933. A youth feels a piercing pain in his arm as he is about to board a train. The pain is from a needle that injects a plague virus into him. The virus is from a Bombay laboratory and the contract killer has been hired by the elder brother of the victim. The incident is regarded as one of the first instances of ‘individual bio-terrorism’.

Scene: Sarat Bose Road, south Kolkata. Time: Christmas eve, 1991. A 47-year-old homemaker from a business family hires employees of the family firm to murder her next-door neighbours, both of whom are in their 50s. The police are clueless till they get a lucky break, thanks to an inebriated youth flaunting a camera at a gambling joint in another part of the city. Bimala Khetawat, the home- maker behind the murder, eventually commits suicide.

These and many other gripping true crime stories have been presented every Sunday morning since July by the Kolkata Police on their Facebook page. True-crime aficionados are hooked.

The department accepted the request of followers of the FB page to provide information about old and sensational cases and decided to present them as stories. It titled the series ‘Rahasya Robibar’ (Sunday Mystery) and the first story was about a 1994 murder.

The narration was lapped up, post was shared nearly 250 times and attracted as many comments. Most urged the department to continue with the initiative.

With every Sunday, the readership increased. The fifth story, homemaker Debjani Banik’s murder case of 1983, published on August 27, was shared more than 700 times. The next, on the 1933 incident, was shared more than 1,200 times and attracted more than 800 comments.

In late October, the police’s announcement about a temporary break in Rahashya Robibar was met with protest. The sheer pressure of the readers forced the police to launch a new series titled Purano Sei Diner Katha (Tales from Olden Times), narrating stories of freedom fighters from the crime files.

The new series has gained instant popularity. Written in Bengali in a racy style, the crime stories have captivated readers, who wait eagerly for their weekly dose of thrills.