playing with fire

Pradeep could clearly see that there was some thing wrong with the father and daughter sitting right opposite him, the girl was too subdued and the guy who introduced himself as his father was not acting like one, the way he was looking at that girl and touching her was any thing but paternal.

He kept watching them pretending as sleeping behind his dark sunglasses, and as if by God’s grace the opportunity came, the guy got down at a station to fetch water and when the train started he missed the compartment.

Pradeep expertly coaxed the girl into a talk and the story which he came to know was horrible. The girl, Priya, as she looked was the daughter of a rich industrialist studying in eighth standard, his father was busy with his life and mother was busy in her own special life, so they forgot their most important duty, bringing up the child.

They gave her own cell connection, net connection at home, and a car and chaufferat her service. She met this guy in a chat room, he showered her with affection, won her trust and taught her to cheat her parents. He asked her to introduce him to her parents as his mathematics tutor, her parents innocently walked into the trap and opened their doors for him.

He became a regular visitor of their house when they were absent, and wove his net around that innocent child, he told her she has the prettiest face in whole India and the talents of becoming a heroine, he took her photographs and slowly coaxed her into taking obscene photographs, which he told was necessary to become a heroince, he fooled her that the photos and negatives will be with her only and gave the negatives to her, keeping a copy for himself without her knowledge.

Next he told her that he knew influential people in Mumbai and they will have to buy their way for the initial break, initially he brainwashed her to squeeze out money from her parents on various pretexts and hand it over to him, which he told he was saving for the fees but finally he told they will need a lot more. He coaxed the girl to steal all the jewellery and cash she could and meet him at Howrah station. He gave the alibi that she will return lot more to her parents once she becomes a successful heroine.

Once they met in Howrah station the guy told Priya to not say anything to her parents, because if they come to know that she has stolen the jewellery and cash and have let him take those photographs they will hate her and may even kill themselves out of shame, every thing will be solved once she is a famous heroine. She can wait till then and trust him.

Pradeep felt sick, he gently coaxed the girl and squeezed out her parent’s address and phone number, when the guy appeared at the next station Pradeep was again faking sleep, he sat down beside Priya without suspecting any thing.

Pradeep got down at the next big station and called Priya’s parents, told them every thing and asked them to meet her in Mumbai station at any cost, he gave them the details of the train, compartment and seat no.

When the train rolled in Mumbai the next afternoon a well dressed respectable looking couple walked inside the compartment, the shock on Priya and her companion’s face told Pradeep the story, he got up and caught the hand of the girl, the guys beside the couple caught hold of the Culprit.

Later in the afternoon Priya’s parents were sitting in Pradeep’s apartment, Priya was sleeping in the next room. Pradeep gave them a solid piece of mind about bringing up adolescent children, which they heard mutely.