Senthilnathan has previously met the Chief Minister along with other officials and at public events. He never met the Chief Minister alone. Even when he arrested the aides of Minister Selvarangan's son, the Chief Minister did not even call him on the phone unless the promotion and transfer came in the usual official way. So the Chief Minister's call surprised him. He went to meet the Chief Minister in confusion not knowing what the reason for the call would be.
Rajathurai greeted him with the same warmth as a long-time friend.
"Come sit down. How is life? Is everything comfortable on your side?"
Senthilnathan saluted respectfully and sat down on the edge of the opposite chair.
"Everything is fine, sir."
Rajathurai looked at him with a smile for a couple of seconds and spoke.
"A situation has arisen. I do not understand what has happened. The situation is such that it has to be investigated in secret. When we decided to hand over the case to a trustworthy, honest and intelligent officer, the first thing that came to my mind was your name.”
Senthilnathan was very proud that this compliment came from the mouth of the Chief Minister even though he was skeptical where this conversation was heading. He politely said, "Thank you sir."
Rajathurai came straight to the point. Senthilnathan's face narrowed when Rajathurai summed up Selvarangan's information about Karthi's disappearance and said, "You have to investigate this secretly and findl the truth." The humiliation caused by Selvarangan after the arrest of his son's servants is not small. The only thing that saved his character was that he got an unexpected promotion in that incident and did not turn into a complete disgrace. He does not agree to associate with those savages again.
Senthilnathan said softly.
"Sir, first of all there is an resentment between them and me,"
Rajathurai said immediately.
“Working grievances with public servants like us are inevitable. We must not allow those grievances to interfere with our duty. ”
Senthilnathan did not know what to say. When the Chief Minister said that he and himself were public servants, the reasoning behind what he said made the person who intended to deny it hesitant. At the same time, he refused to agree. He said reluctantly.
"They will not agree with me doing this investigation,
"Already spoke with Selva and he agreed” said Rajathurai. But he did not say that Selvarangan also was hesitant at the beginning.
It took Senthilnathan a few seconds to understand that he was referring to Selvarangan as Selva. Senthilnathan said in a polite voice wondering why he was being asked to go through such embarrassment.
"There will be no cooperation and no respect from those who do not like me to investigate.”
"First they need your efficiency and help. Second I have appointed you in this case. So no need to hesitate. ” Rajathurai said with confirmity.
Senthilnathan became speechless. He has nothing more to say. But he did not understand the need for the Chief Minister to force himself on both sides.
Rajathurai said softly.
"Karthi, I have been watching him since he was born. Very nice guy. Genius. His sudden disappearance has not only shaken Selvarangan. It has affected me also.”
Senthilnathan remembered reading, a few months ago Karthi had commented that Chief Minister’s plan is nonsense. Then he also remembered how the Chief Minister had dealt with it without hesitation. Even after Karthi had said such things, Chief Minister is telling something good about him without any anger or resentment towards him, and taking personal care to find him. Rajathurai’s stature raised in Senthilnathan’s viewpoint.
"We cannot go the normal way. It will attract media’s attention. Then we have to deal with atrocities for their circulation and TRP ratings. That’s why we decided to investigate in secret. What do you think about Karthi's disappearance? What do you think might have happened? ”
Senthilnathan thought for a few seconds and left.
"For now we can assume he is kidnapped. But the chances of being kidnapped for money are slim. Because no one in general kidnaps the ruling class householders. They know that the police are active and use every methods to nab them b all means. One may be the cause of pre-existing animosity. Otherwise there may be some other reason which has not come to our attention. ”
Senthilnathan's clear statement impressed Rajathurai. It became clear that the goodwill expressed by many superiors about Senthilnathan had not been baseless.
“All right. You can start this investigation immediately. Talk to my secretary if you need any help. As I said let your investigation be confidential. It is important that information is not leaked to the media. Congratulations. ” Said Rajathurai.
Senthilnathan realized that the meeting was over and had no choice but to get up and leave. Rajadurai remained silent for a while after he left. When he heard about the disappearance, his instinct was that there was a bigger conspiracy behind it. He never ignored the tone of his intuition. He had just calmed down after handing over the case to an officer of high integrity and intelligence like Senthilnathan. When his aide came inside to tell the aide about the next meeting, his focus shifted from Karthi’s affair.
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The researcher, who works for the KCG Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (KCGTRAC) in the Peenya area of Bengaluru, arrived at his office half an hour earlier than usual. He was the first to view the tens of thousands of photos and information sent daily by the KCGSAT space research center. He will only remove the information he is interested in from the pile of information. Only the remaining information notes are divided into several categories and go for storage and distribution.
There was a special reason why he came so early today. He was excited. Out of the information that came to his computer in a hurry, he only saw specific information and photos. Initially looked at superficially. Then stared again. He could not believe his eyes. He opened his eyes and looked at the third time in amazement and called a number on his cell phone. The cell phone was not picked up on the other side. Bored of trying three times, he sent information on his cell phone.
“Last night was an extraordinary event in Tamil Nadu. We need to talk as soon as possible”
Sent and waited impatiently for the call to come.