Dhaval : An unsolved Riddle
An article in Gujarati by Ishwar Prajapati
Translate By: Pallavi Gupta
This is one of the heart-wrenching incidents of the Aravalli region. One evening, Ramjibhai was frantically searching for his four-year-old grandson. His beloved and cherished grandson had been missing since afternoon. He searched the whole village but no one did not find him. Even though it was getting dark, there was no trace to be found of Dhaval anywhere. Later, on the whole village joined in search of Dhaval. The village was very small. So now the search was directed to the outskirts of the village.
The villagers began searching surrounding fields, ponds, and wells. The news rvillagerseceived of late was very shocking. Someone tried to kill him by tightening the noose of the rope around Dhaval’s neck on Ramjibhai’s farm. But Dhaval was still breathing. He was immediately taken to a nearby town hospital for treatment. Dhaval’s condition was turning out to be critical. Hence, he was shifted to a big city hospital. Dhaval breathed his last during the treatment at the hospital. Even after great effort, Dhaval couldn’t be saved. The crime of Dhaval’s murder was registered at the police station. And the police scrambled to find the murderer of the innocent child.
The question was, who would have committed this heinous and gruesome crime of killing an innocent child? Who must be the killer? Who would be that sinner? And what would be the motive behind the murder of this innocent child? This was one question which would start anyone contemplating it. The first question was why was Dhaval staying with his grandfather? Are the parents alive or not? And if the parents are alive, where are they? The name of Dhaval’s father was Sureshbhai. His first marriage was with the girl of his own community. The marriage barely lasted for one year. Suresh and his wife got divorced in one year. After getting divorced, Suresh fell in love with a girl who was a resident of a small village in the Aravalli district. And finally got married and started living together. Initially both passed a happy married life, and a son was born to them. The son was named Dhaval. As Dhaval’s age advanced, so did the marital discord between Suresh and his second wife kept on increasing.
The dissention/disagreement rose to such a level that the relation with his second wife was on the verge of breaking. Later the matter came to the point of divorce. Dhaval was three and half years old at that time. Suresh’s second wife handed over the custody of her son Dhaval to her in-laws and went to her parent’s home. Now Suresh also left home. Despite having parents, Dhaval became parentless. The responsibility of upbthe ringing/nurturing of Dhaval fell on the grandfather Mr. Ramjibhai. Suresh kept moving from one city to another in search of a job. Sometimes he used to get retail jobs in cities like Himmat Nagar, Ahmedabad or Surat. Meanwhile, a girl came into his contact and later turned into a love relationship. Suresh was now in a relationship with a third girl. He then came with the girl to his hometown. The girl’s family disapproved of this relationship at all cost. The girl's family took the girl back home. Now Suresh was all alone. He became irritable and suspicious by nature. He was not ready to talk in a decent manner with anyone.
While Sures was in his hometown he received a phone call from his second wife. After conversing with his second wife, restlessness in Suresh intensified, His face was livid and turned red with anger. He was at a loss as to what to do next. In the afternoon he took his son Dhaval to a barber in nearby village. After returning from the adjoining village, he took his bag and left for work. After that, Dhaval having not returned until nightfall, the grandfather started the search and found Dhaval in an unconscious state with a rope around his neck in the field. And while the treatment was in progress in the hospital he breathed his last. The killing of the innocent child left the whole area in a state of deep shock.
The case was gaining momentum under the guidance of District Police Chief Sanjay Kharat. The district LCB was given the charge to lead the case and trace the accused. The investigation started in full swing. The LCB started working day and night to gather the evidence and when the truth came out it was astonishing for everyone. At the time when this incident took place, the presence of Dhaval, i.e. Dhaval’s father was noted around the spot/place. The needle of suspicion of the murder was pointing towards the child’s father, Suresh.
When police started searching for Suresh he was found working as a labourer in a city. He was nabbed from the spot. On his interrogation at the police station, he confessed that “ I have attempted to kill Dhaval because her mother only told me on a phone that Dhaval was not his child, but that of her lover/paramour. This fact was unbearable for me to accept that someone else’s son was being raised in my home. This very thought robbed me of my mental peace. And that day itself I took Dhaval under the pretext of hair cut with the intention of killing him. I took him to the field and put a noose tightly around his neck and came home and escaped saying that I am to leave for some job.” Suresh’s confession even stunned the police. How can a father kill his own innocent child? It's truly said, that there can be no remedy to doubt/suspicion. It is difficult to imagine how the doubt of a worm can make a person perpetuate the most heinous of an act.
Dhaval’s grandfather Ramjibhai was forced to spend his old age in a helpless state. One of the specialities of our judicial system is that a hundred criminals can be acquitted, but one innocent should not be punished. Suresh had confessed to having committed the crime at the police station, but no evidence or witnesses were there to prove it, hence the crime couldn’t be proved. Due to the need for proper evidence and witnesses, the honourable court acquitted Suresh.
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